globalresearch--2019-07-22--Economic and Social Crisis in Puerto Rico The Ugly American and the Puerto Rican National Questio

Economic and Social Crisis in Puerto Rico: “The Ugly American” and the Puerto Rican National Question

The latest crisis in Puerto Rico involves Gov. Ricardo Rossello and appears to be the accumulation of other crises that now appear to question the legitimacy of the colonial political structure in Puerto Rico. Nearly 900 pages of personal messages on the Telegram app between him and others in his political inner circle were published by Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism.  These messages comprise of homophobic, misogynistic, and the disregard of the those who lost their lives during Hurricane Maria. They also reveal discussions of alleged election manipulation and attempts to affect his administration’s public image. This all came at the heal of arrest that the FBI of six governmental officials who were charged with 32-counts of corruption. Along with the six, is Julia Keleher, the former education secretary, and Ángela Ávila-Marrero, the former executive director of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration.  The federal indictment states that former officials illegally directed federal funding to politically connected contractors. Some Puerto Ricans questioned the U.S.’s motive in arrests because of the possibility it is used to justify the Trump administration restriction of aid to the island in the aftermath of the hurricane. Just about any understanding of the history of Puerto Rico and the U.S. should be viewed with suspicion, especially matters dealing with the U.S. and its Puerto Rican elite alliance.  It is clear that the Trump administration has shown the “ugly American” and the bigoted side of the U.S. empire, but we should not lose sight that the history of U.S. imperialism has been a U.S. bipartisan affair between the Republican and Democratic parties. As Gore Vidal reminds us,  After all, it was the Obama administration, a democrat, that imposed the financial oversight board, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) of 2016, which was tasked with imposing austerity measures on the spending on public services (resulting in the closing schools, downsizing government operations and public employees) in order to service the $72 billion-dollar debt. Or more historically, it was FDR, the patron saint of the Democratic Party, whose administration repressed a movement for Puerto Rican independence in the 1930s while extending New Deal reforms that were designed to pacify Puerto Rican discontent and perfect political and economic control, which also meant the cultivation of a pro-U.S. local political elite.  The economic crisis that preceded the imposition of the oversight board that was not elected by the Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and yet wields control over the economic affairs of the economy was met with frustration by many Puerto Ricans that did not fully understand what colonial control means. As if colonial control vis-à-vis the control by an intermediate political system of the two dominant political parties of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (New Progressive Party, PNP) and the Partido Popular Democrático (Popular Democratic Party, PPD) was somehow different. This political system in Puerto Rico largely provides the illusion of self-governance, but in reality, operates within the colonial structure of control because the real authority resides with the U.S. government. The point being is that Puerto Ricans did not have control of its economic affairs prior to the imposition, but that the imposition of the oversight board unveiled this reality to many.  In fact, months before Hurricane Maria, the economic conditions on the island were already in deterioration, with alarming rates of unemployment and poverty that the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization approved a draft resolution that called on the U.S. to expedite a process enabling the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self‑determination and independence. The Committee also expressed concerns with the imposition of PROMESA and its impact on Puerto Rico’s already weakened sovereignty within the U.S. prevailing regime of political and economic control. Colonial status was supposed to have been resolved in 1952 when the U.S. approved a Puerto Rican Constitution in which it retained control over Puerto Rico.  The creation of the “commonwealth” in 1952 was designed to shield against international criticism of Puerto Rico’s continued colonial status and an attempt to manufacture consent to “legitimize” the political arrangement as the expression self-determination. The U.N. committee signed off on this deception under the pressure of the United States. Yet, over the years, the PPD (the key party to sponsor the so-called status change), along with the PNP, the pro-statehood party agree with the pro-independence movement that Puerto Rico is in fact a colony.  However, each of these forces has different objectives. The PPD continues to believe that the commonwealth arrangement can be made to work with modifications – i.e., enhancements that essentially continue Puerto Rico’s dependency on the United States.  The problem with the PPD is that it is seen as the co-architect, with the U.S., of the status quo on the island. Yet, the PNP is also complicit in this status quo, because since 1968 it has rotated in out of the governorship and is part of the colonial structure order. This being said, the PNP advocate that the only solution is statehood.  For the pro-independence movement, the colonial relationship with the U.S. cannot be resolved as an internal matter of the U.S. and requires international intervention and the establishment of a process for decolonization. In other words, this requires a process of decolonization first. Conceivable this would mean the transfer of authority of all political, economic, and cultural affairs to the Puerto Rican people, the withdrawal of the U.S. military and all other coercive and counterinsurgency agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and CIA. In addition, all U.S. interference in Puerto Rico’s affairs must cease.  In addition, there needs to be a set period of time in which Puerto Ricans receive economic and technological assistance from the U.S. as it organizes its own economic development and trade in order to ensure a viable level of self-sufficiency. Until some version of the above pre-conditions is met, all plebiscites that claim to address the national question on the island are invalid because voting is reduced to voting with one’s stomach, out of the fear that decolonization means living under far worst economic conditions. Also, the path to true decolonization requires addressing the impact of internalized colonialism on the psychology of subjected people and the restoration of an independent national identity.  For Puerto Ricans, the national question can be seen either as Puerto Ricans as a national minority within a larger and more powerful nation (this is the current status and would change under statehood, having particular rights like other states) or as a nation itself, with its own sovereignty (Blaut 1987). Contrary to the pro-statehood party anti-colonial stance, Pedro Albizu Campos once said that statehood would mean the “final triumph of colonialism” (Maldonado-Denis 1972:136). In other words, it would mean full cultural assimilation of Puerto Rican culture into a dominant U.S. culture (such as language and national identity). The reason why the word full is used is because political and economic integration occurred when the U.S. invaded and colonized Puerto Rico in 1898.  The issue of full cultural assimilation is complex and needs to be dissected in order to understand the context of the Puerto Rican national question. Although as Trias Monge states that “Culturally the Americanization policy failed,” because “the people clung desperately to their language and sense of self” (98), however, when it comes to political identity this is a far more complex issue. In fact, the imposition of U.S. citizenship (Jones Act of 1917) is one of the most important factors that can be seen as hindering the efforts at self-determination because it integrates Puerto Ricans into the dominant cultural values and beliefs of the United States. Essentially, Puerto Ricans were forced to pledge their allegiance to another nation that treats them as colonial subjects that must be governed; this is in contrast viewing them as equals with the capacity for self-governance.  The U.S. military in Puerto Rico is embedded in almost all aspects of Puerto Rican life and cannot be understood only in terms of being part of the state repressive apparatus. The military plays a dual role in socially integrating large sectors of the Puerto Rican population into the “American way of life.” Rodriguez-Beruff argues that many of the U.S. military organizations were designed to instill a pro-U.S. ideology and to develop loyal and patriotic U.S. citizens (as opposed to a Puerto Rican nationalism) (1983:23). The military or more specifically military service serves as a vehicle for social integration that unifies separate entities into a nation (Deitz, Elkin, and Roumani 1991:2). The U.S. has carried out some nation-building strategies, such as imposing U.S. citizenship and conscription into the military, which are consistent with colonial forms of rule as opposed to the formation of a democratic federation.  In order to understand the illusion of the U.S. as the savior we need to understand the degree of U.S. cultural integration in Puerto Rico. First off, the concept of culture needs more explanation in this specific context. Culture as the realm in which values, norms, customs, rituals, and beliefs that reside within a people. When speaking of national culture, this usually refers to distinct cultures in which language is key is transmitting culture from generation to generation and is the glue that binds people’s identity, but a colonized people are exposed to a particular culture that is the antithesis of decolonization and independence.  The imposition of one nation over another is usually a bloody affair that requires not only military might, but counterinsurgency strategies of persuasion to win people over (e.g., through deception and co-optation) to integrate (i.e., by cultural assimilate) them into the new system of domination, and to isolate and neutralize those who rebel against this imposition. Historically, as well as presently, Puerto Ricans on the island and in the U.S. have a long history of rebelling and resisting this imposition and fighting for national liberation, which these efforts have been repressed and criminalized.  Although Puerto Ricans have retained their language, customs, and traditions, what we really need to develop is a deeper analysis that can enable us to understand how over one-hundred and twenty years of exposure to U.S. cultural values and beliefs impede resolving the national question.  Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc.  Vince Montes is a lecturer in sociology at San Jose State University. Earned a Ph.D. at the New School for Social Research. Recent articles appear in Global Research, Radical Criminology, The Political Anthropologist, and Dissident Voice.  Blaut, James M. 1987. The National Question: Decolonializing the Theory of Nationalism.  Dietz, Henry, Jerrold Elkin & Maurice Roumani. 1991. Ethnicity, Integration, and the Military.  Boulder, CO: Westview Press.  Rodriguez-Beruff, Jorge. 1983. “Imperialism and Militarism: An Analysis of the Puerto Rican Case.” Proyecto Caribeno de Justicia y Paz, Rio Pedras: Puerto Rico.  Trias Monge, Jose. 1997.  Puerto Rico: The Trails of the Oldest Colony in the World. New  Vidal, Gore. 1977. Matters of Fact and of Fiction: Essays 1973–76. New York, NY: Random House.


instapundit--2019-03-22--MARTIN FELDSTEIN The Debt Crisis Is Coming Soon To avoid economic distress the government has t

MARTIN FELDSTEIN:  The Debt Crisis Is Coming Soon:  To avoid economic distress, the government has t…

MARTIN FELDSTEIN: The Debt Crisis Is Coming Soon: To avoid economic distress, the government has to reduce future entitlement spending.  The most dangerous domestic problem facing America’s federal government is the rapid growth of its budget deficit and national debt.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit this year will be $900 billion, more than 4% of gross domestic product. It will surpass $1 trillion in 2022. The federal debt is now 78% of GDP. By 2028, it is projected to be nearly 100% of GDP and still rising. All this will have very serious economic consequences, and the CBO understates the problem. It has to base its projections on current law—in this case, the levels of spending and the future tax rules and rates that appear in law today.  Those levels don’t match realistic predictions. Current law projects that defense spending will decline as a share of GDP, from a very low 3.1% now to about 2.5% over the next 10 years. None of the military and civilian defense experts with whom I’ve spoken believe that will happen, given America’s global responsibilities and the need to modernize U.S. military equipment. It is likelier that defense spending will stay around 3% of GDP or even increase in the coming decade. And if the outlook for defense spending is increased, the Democratic House majority will insist that the nondefense discretionary spending should rise to match its trajectory.


instapundit--2019-04-08--SAVE THE BOYS Boy crisis threatens Americas future with economic health and suicide risks

SAVE THE BOYS:  ‘Boy crisis’ threatens America’s future with economic, health and suicide risks….

SAVE THE BOYS: ‘Boy crisis’ threatens America’s future with economic, health and suicide risks.


instapundit--2019-09-18--MADUROS NEW ECONOMIC POLICY Venezuela Quietly Loosens Grip on Market Tempering Economic Crisis

MADURO’S NEW ECONOMIC POLICY: Venezuela Quietly Loosens Grip on Market, Tempering Economic Crisis. “…

MADURO’S NEW ECONOMIC POLICY: Venezuela Quietly Loosens Grip on Market, Tempering Economic Crisis. “The easing of controls is a risky move for a government that has publicly championed its state-led, socialist economic model as the country’s only salvation from greedy capitalists. But the measures are giving some life, even if limited, to the economy Mr. Maduro controls, despite a raft of U.S.-led financial sanctions and dozens of nations deeming his leadership illegitimate.”  A little bit of capitalism can pay for a whole lot of socialism, but the capitalists are always suckers in the end for thinking the controls won’t come back just as soon as the regime thinks it can get away with it.


jerusalempost--2019-11-10--UK's Javid says opposition Labour would trigger economic crisis - BBC

British finance minister Sajid Javid said the opposition Labour Party's spending plans would trigger an economic crisis within months, citing a contested dossier published by his Conservative Party and refusing to give costs for his own fiscal strategy.     "These are eye-watering levels of spending - 1.2 trillion (pounds) - it will be absolutely reckless and will leave this country with an economic crisis within months," Javid told the BBC on Sunday.  The Labour Party have dismissed the Conservative analysis of their spending plans, and have yet to publish their full manifesto.  var cont = `Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>    `; document.getElementById("linkPremium").innerHTML = cont; (function (v, i){ });


newswars--2019-01-24--Will Policy Makers Turn a Global Economic Slowdown Into a Crisis

Will Policy Makers Turn a Global Economic Slowdown Into a Crisis?

The recent macroeconomic data of the leading economies point to a widespread slowdown.  What is more concerning is not just a logical moderation in the path of growth, but the acceleration in the weakening of economies that were supposed to be stronger and healthier. It is even more concerning that this aggressive worsening of key leading indicators in China, the EU, and most emerging economies happens at the peak of the largest monetary and fiscal stimulus in decades.  It is easy to blame this widespread weakening on political headlines, trade wars, and — of course —Trump, but it would be disingenuous to believe those are the real factors behind the negative economic surprise.  The pace of global recoveries since 1975 has been slower and weaker, consistently, according to the OECD. Recoveries take longer and happen slower. At the same time, periods of crisis are less aggressive albeit more frequent than prior to 1975.  Another interesting evidence of the crises and recoveries since 1975 is that almost all economies end the recession period with more debt than before.  These factors are all concerning, but the evidence also shows that economic progress has continued regardless and that the main factors of wellbeing have improved dramatically. I had the opportunity of meeting Johan Norberg, author of “Progress” and we discussed all the positive elements we have seen in the past decades. In the same period, from 1975 to 2018, extreme poverty has been reduced to all-time lows. Hunger, poverty, illiteracy,  child mortality… all those terrible problems have been dramatically reduced to the lowest levels in history. That is the positive.  However, recognizing the positive is important, but ignoring the risks is dangerous. Global debt has ballooned to all-time highs, more than three times the world GDP. For those elements of progress to continue improving, we must stop the race of perverse incentives created by the wrong analysis of the origin of crises and the solutions that are often proposed in mainstream economics and politics.  I agree with Johan Norberg that the two main factors that have driven the phenomenal progress we have seen are free markets and openness. The freedom to innovate, experiment, create and share must come with the right incentives.’  For decades, governments and central banks have always identified the problems of the economy as demand problems, even if it was not the case. If there was a crisis or a recession, governments immediately believed that it must be due to lack of demand, and subsequently decide that the private sector is not willing or able to fulfill the real demand needs of the economy, even if there was no real evidence that companies or citizens were investing or consuming less than what they needed. The entire premise was that companies were not investing “enough”. Compared to what and decide by whom? Obviously by central planners who benefit from bubbles and overcapacity but never suffer the consequences.  Governments and central banks never perceive risks of excess supply and even less predict a bubble. Why? Because most central planners see debt, oversupply, and bubbles as small collateral damages of a greater good: recover growth at any cost.  Behind the mistake in diagnosis is the obsession to maintain or grow Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at any cost. GDP is relatively easy to inflate. I always explain to my students that GDP is the only economic calculation in which you add what you spend with what you earn. GDP can be inflated through government spending and with higher debt-fueled expenditures. Debt is not a problem when it serves its purpose, which is to finance productive investment and allow the economy to grow, while efficiency, innovation, and technology allow us to be more productive and receive more and better goods and services at cheaper prices. It is a virtuous cycle.  The virtuous cycle of credit turns into a vicious cycle of unproductive debt when we incentivize malinvestment and prevent technology substitution by implementing massive government stimuli and liquidity injections.  Central banks justify their actions saying they do not cut rates, it is a market and private sector demand. Really? How and when did they survey that? What private sector? Crony or obsolescent companies? Highly indebted ones? Furthermore, if low rates and liquidity injections are a market demand, why not let the market set rates and liquidity instead of central banks?  Those same governments that feel the need to “increase inflation”, something that no consumer has demanded ever anywhere, do so because they benefit as the first recipients of newly created money and the only sector that truly benefits from inflation. Not even crony sectors fully benefit from inflation, the tax of the poor. Those suffer higher costs and import expenses.  By always making the same diagnosis, mistakes are repeated and accumulated. No wonder the pace of recoveries is slower, weaker and more indebted.  Inflation does not rise as much as central planners want because technology and efficiency are unstoppable even if they try, and because overcapacity is perpetuated through constant re-financing. Massive liquidity and low rates make zombie companies soar. The percentage of companies that cannot pay interest expenses with operating profits balloons despite ultra-low rates and alleged “growth-boosting” plans.  For decades, demand-side policies showed diminishing but not lethal results, but now the world has repeated the same policies so many times that there is simply exhaustion. Rates are unsustainably low, liquidity is excessive and there is no real fiscal space in governments that have all but consumed their ability to extract wealth from savers.  The more we hear from governments that we need to spend more and save less, the weaker the response from economic agents.  Governments and central banks create a crisis from a moderate and completely healthy slowdown by denying economic cycles and, even worse, presenting themselves as the ones that will revert them.  The current global slowdown is not due to lack of stimuli, but the excess of them. When central planners decide to “correct” it, they create the seeds of the crisis. Malinvestment reaches unsustainable levels and bubbles burst, affecting all aspects of the real economy.  There is no evidence that companies or citizens are investing or consuming less than they need, it only happens in the mind of those that expect excel-spreadsheet-style results from demand-side policies in the real economy.  The global economy is close to recession, but a full-blown crisis is still unlikely. If central banks and governments present themselves, again, as the “solution,” they will create the next crisis.


newswars--2019-12-11--International Group Mulls Providing Financial Aid to Lebanon Amid Country’s Economic Crisis

Diplomats met behind closed doors in Paris on Wednesday to consider measures to help Lebanon as it grapples with ongoing political turmoil and its worst economic crisis in decades.  The international group, co-chaired by France and the United Nations, is weighing conditions for providing financial aid to Lebanon. Lebanese businesses and households are growing increasingly desperate as cash supplies there have dwindled.  “In order to halt the sharp deterioration in the economy … there is an urgent need for the adoption of a substantial, credible and comprehensive policy package of economic reforms to restore fiscal balance and financial stability,” the international support group said in a final communiqué after a meeting in Paris on Wednesday.  For two months, protests have decried government mismanagement and the current political system. But even as the financial crisis deepens, protesters have denounced the Paris meeting and promised to condemn any international financial assistance to a government they see as corrupt and illegitimate.  Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned October 29, but he has stayed on as caretaker prime minister since politicians have been unable to form a new government. Protesters want to see a non-sectarian, technocratic government – and they want all traces of the old regime, including Hariri, out of office.  France and the United States have made clear they support a new government in Lebanon.  Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that “the responsibility lies with the Lebanese people” to push for a new political order. He said the US is ready to “do the things that the world can do to assist the Lebanese people getting their economy right and getting their government right”.    Alex Jones breaks down how Globalist banking forces are conspiring to create the illusion that along with populists, nationalists, and the policies they advocate comes financial ruin and collapse to convince populations that globalization is their salvation.  The US has escalated its sanctions on the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group, which dominates the national unity government that Hariri headed.  French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said at a press conference ahead of the Paris meeting that Lebanese authorities must “take into account the call of the street”. He urged Lebanese authorities to “form a government rapidly because any delay will aggravate the situation”.  Protesters ‘Don’t Want Aid to Go to Waste’  Meanwhile, dozens of protesters in Beirut and Paris rallied Wednesday to call on the leaders meeting in France not to give financial assistance until a new government comes together.  “This authority … no longer represents the Lebanese,” said a protester in Beirut reading a letter to be delivered to the French ambassador. Calling the current government corrupt, the protester said: “We don’t want [that aid] to go to waste.”  Hariri has called on Saudi Arabia, France, Turkey, the United States, China and Egypt to send funds to help Lebanon finance imports.  But international donors are unlikely to write a cheque without substantial commitments to reform. More than 50 countries pledged last year to give Lebanon $11 million (€9.9m) in aid, conditional on Hariri implementing long-stalled reforms. Promised reforms never materialized.  “The only possible criteria (for aid) is the effectiveness of the government in implementing the reforms awaited by the population,” said Le Drian after the meeting. “This is the only way that the participants around this table and beyond can mobilize to give Lebanon the support it needs.”  ‘We Don’t Have Anything to Lose’  Hundreds of Lebanese business owners gathered in central Beirut protesting the delay in forming a new government and threatening a collective tax strike. Organizers said most private businesses have already been unable to pay taxes and are still getting slapped with penalties.  “What we are asking for is to cancel the penalties. We can’t afford paying,” said Samir Saliba, a business owner.  Saliba said a new campaign is aimed at educating the private sector about their rights and advocate for a blanket tax strike: “People are fed up. We don’t have anything to lose anymore.”  In the last weeks, hundreds of people have been laid off or are receiving reduced salaries, while many businesses have had to shut down.  Also, get all you need to completely stuff Christmas stockings this year with our Christmas Mega Pack sold AT COST during the 12 Days of Christmas Sale!


prepareforchange--2019-01-23--Experts Warning Americans to Be Prepared For Economic Collapse Disaster Surviving the Coming Food C

Experts Warning Americans to Be Prepared For Economic Collapse, Disaster Surviving the Coming Food Crisis

Suddenly, the world food markets spilled out of control. Within a year, prices for wheat doubled, those for soybean and sugar even tripled. The drivers behind this surge were stock decreases during the preceding years, a disappointing harvest due to bad weather in several countries and growing demand for feedstuff. Once prices soared, governments of exporting nations curbed the outflow of food, thus exacerbating the crisis. Merely two years later, prices had come down roughly to previous levels-the affliction had ended.   This is not the account of the infamous 2016/2019 price spikes; it is the half-forgotten story of the early 70s. At least for developed countries, this earlier crisis was worse than the recent one. Real food prices-corrected for inflation-climbed higher, and food expenditures absorbed a much greater share of households’ income, so that any increase was felt more harshly. This episode nonetheless takes a backseat in our collective memory because OPEC limited oil production soon after the food prices had started to rise. Higher oil prices proved to be the more lasting and pernicious impediment to global growth.  So there is a historical precedent of a food price surge that did not destabilize the world economy. Instead, it was eventually followed by a quarter of a century of low food prices beginning in 1980. But the 2016/08 episode was not perceived from this bird’s-eye perspective. Even in emerging and industrialized countries, much less affected than the poorer nations, the crisis has changed the thinking of the powerful. The fear was born that the next food crisis may be waiting for us, one that will dwarf anything the world has seen before. The world might cast off its multilateral, liberal veil in the merciless scramble for food.   Under this lens, the purchase or long-term lease of fertile farmland abroad appears to be a hard-nosed move of Realpolitik without humanitarian disguise. Non-governmental organizations attack the neo-colonial land grab of Arab and Chinese investors that uproots local communities and undermines the self-sufficiency of poor nations. It’s smart but contemptible, so the common judgment goes-which may be wrong on both counts.   The receiving countries may actually win. Investment in developing countries’ agriculture is direly needed: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that an annual US $ 30 billion of additional funds will be required over the next 10 years. This is hardly a sum governments will muster. Often the significant pledges made by donor countries during the crisis are just that, pledges. Making a promise is not the same thing as signing a check. Private investment is necessary to fill the gap.  Collapse of the US Food Supply System The ? There’s a reason why the US government is so eager to disarm the American people.   It’s got little to do with crime rates or mass murders… but everything to do with the very reason the 2nd Amendment was created for: to protect the people from a tyrannical government.   Because when a major disaster hits the USA, a recent executive order allows FEMA to confiscate your food stockpile… and just like in the old USSR, to give it to the government-dependent masses   The Four Horsemen of the Food Apocalypse”…because they bring with them a deadly social and economic crisis… with immediate effects on your ability to feed your family.  And if you don’t act fast, if you don’t act now, you’re going to miss your chance forever… a chance to finally become self-sufficient and independent, a chance to make your family “recession-proof” and “disaster proof”, while the unprepared “zombies” will be starving and killing each other over a loaf of rotten bread.  he first horseman is Hunger… and it came with the searing heat of last year.  The summer of 2012 brought massive drought, devastation and despair to farmers all over the globe. World granaries like Russia and Kazakhstan were scorched by hellish temperatures. Crops in Ukraine were pummeled, corn was reduced to desolating burnt stalks. And with a 15% drop in the Indian monsoon… a historical drought in Australia… and an appalling harvest in Mexico… you may be wondering…  Louisiana flooding 2016 is the country’s ‘worst natural disaster’ BATON ROUGE — Five days into this disaster, adrenaline is giving way to exhaustion and — for many of those who left their homes amid rising water — a constant, churning anxiety about the future.  Because the second horseman is GREED.   Just as the drought was causing soy, corn and meat prices to soar 10% alone … the US turned on the printing machine, and dumped two trillion dollars in the laps of the biggest banks… through “quantitative easing”. The official story is that all this money should go back into the economy… to help small businesses and people like you and I.  How to survive the coming food crisis – food survival guide. When a big or small disaster comes suddenly, people are often forced to go days without food. Only with certain amount of essentials, people could ensure the survival. And it is struggling to obtain them at a time of severe adversity, trauma, or crisis (even when an authoritative report smells the coming food crisis).  Think over a series of matter like below:     (1) How to survive during terror attacks that have led to widespread fear and shutdown of local stores and shops? If it happens at this time, will your only choice be to beg your neighbors for help or wait to be transferred to the nearby FEMA camps.   (2) How to live through a rolling blackout that has lasted for up to weeks and created huge difficulties for normal food storage or long term bulk-food storage?   (3) How to make sure that the whole family could survive a snow storm or hurricane that whipped people into a super panic frenzy of buying – grabbing almost any food as long as a person is able to get his/her hands on it. What if you failed to restock the necessary food for weeks?   (4) If a flood hits your house and the roads are massively washed out, you have been aware that it became impossible to store weeks of food in time, what should you do to survive?   (5) How to deal with the food shortage problems due to a long-lasting labor union protest and refusal of shipment? Could you guarantee your children will not go hungry?   (6) What to do in case of an earthquake that destroyed your house and severely disrupted your abilities to obtain supplies (this kind of devastating case could occur anywhere and get much worse in a city than in a village)?  Unfortunately, most people believes that any horrible disaster will not really occur around them, or not occur to themselves at least; if you also nod your head to them, this might be just what you think, try to look back to the history, history facts prove otherwise, such as Tokyo tsunami in 2011, Katrina hurricane in 2014, Indian ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004, and Haiti earthquake in 2010. Thousands of people around the world lost their lives to natural disasters in 2018, a tragic reminder of how rapidly natural disasters such as wildfires in California2018. As to the US regions alone, every year, there are always a big number of death reports and injury reports on a variety of disasters, such as destructive tornadoes hitting the southeastern states, blizzards battering the northwestern states, earthquakes striking the coastal area of western US states, droughts affecting the central US, wildfires burning across California, floods threatening all the states literally (According to the statement of FEMA, actually every US resident lives at risk of flood, the only difference among states is the level of risk).   Here you can learn about seven of the worst disasters of 2018 and how World Vision is helping people affected.  Myanmar refugees in Bangladesh   Indonesia earthquakes and tsunami   Syrian refugee crisis   East Africa hunger crisis   Ebola, hunger, and conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo   Venezuela economic and migration crisis   Yemen conflict and food crisis  Anytime when a disaster comes, people who are still underprepared opt to put all the survival hopes on FEMA or government, but the real biggest hope is in their own hands. And at the danger moment, no one would be more eager than you to help your own family members survive. Try to imagine that all your family are trapped in an emergency situation where survival food and water supplies are cut off, you know very well that a person whose dehydration lasts for just several hours tends to die, especially if he/she is exerting the physical energy, like running and escaping a mob, or fighting against an attacker. And a person under the extremely severe starvation will also go to death slowly and painfully, starting with diarrhea and confusion and ending up with hallucinations and muscle spasms from hell. Joking apart, any crisis which lasts for just a couple of weeks could become deadly to a person or their families in case he/she is not well prepared. Therefore, you should be aware that not learning to store your own emergency food is definitely a mistake, but a preparation of wrong food is also probably another scary thing; one day when your children or your wife realize that you did a bad job in home protection, how about your own feeling even though they would not like to mention it in front of you. Here, ask to yourself if you could instantly come up with a complete list of emergency food items. These three old lessons will ensure your children will be well fed when others are rummaging through garbage bins. Click here to learn all about the 3 skills that will help you thrive in any crises situation.  Are you worried about your future? Are you worried by the many disasters that you face in your everyday life? Worry no more. The Lost Ways comes in to solve your woes. This program was created by Davis Claude and its major role is to prepare and teach you how to handle worst-case scenarios using the least independence. This program will therefore motivate you to protect your family and friends during the worst period without the help of the modern technology.  Remember, calamities are everywhere: at work, home, school and many other places. These calamities cause tension and leads to a decrease in productivity. This may finally lead to a reduction in life. Fortunately, the lost ways review will provide solutions to these situations. It will give you the tips for preparing yourself when nothing seems to go as expected.  Generally, most people are optimistic. This makes them unprepared for failure. However, the best thing is to prepare for worst times. It is important to tell your kids about earthquakes, fire outbreaks, extreme weather conditions and other calamities. Tell them how to deal with these calamities in case they occur.  This food survival guide wants you to know what food items are the most essential for survival; and tens of those items are also pretty easy to miss and tend to disappear during hard times, or just at a hint of disaster events. You have to admit the fact that all the food items could not be created absolutely equally. And the nutrient value of some common food items is also worthless, wasting time and money on this type of foods does not help protect or even damage the health of your family during a crisis. Yet, sadly, average Americans are still lack of this survival consciousness, and do not have a idea about what to buy, they will just be ready to rush to grab anything on the shelf as much as they can. Surely, this way is obviously inadvisable. A preparation ahead of average people makes sense in the enhancement of protection for your family.  A grand encyclopedia of country Carnivore’s Bible  ,  weather wisdom, country remedies and herbal cures, cleaning solutions, pest purges, firewood essentials, adobe making and bricklaying, leather working, plant dyes, farm foods, natural teas and tonics, granola, bread making, beer brewing and winemaking, jams and jellies, canning and preserving, sausage making and meat smoking, drying foods, down-home toys, papermaking, candle crafting, homemade soaps and shampoos,  butter and cheese making, fishing and hunting secrets, and much more. Carnivore’s Bible : Traditional Skills for Simple Living  Carnivore’s Bible (is a wellknown meat processor providing custom meat processing services locally andacross the state of Montana and more. Whether your needs are for domestic meator wild game meat processing)  The Lost Book of Remedies PDF ( contains a series of medicinal andherbal recipes to make home made remedies from medicinal plants and herbs.Chromic diseases and maladies can be overcome  by taking the remediesoutlined in this book. The writer claims that his grandfather was taughtherbalism and healing whilst in active service during world war twoand that he has treated many soldiers with his home made cures. )  Easy Cellar(Info about building and managing your root cellar, plus printable plans. The book on building and using root cellars – The Complete Root Cellar Book.)  The Lost Ways (Learn the long forgotten secrets that helped our forefathers survive famines,wars,economic crisis and anything else life threw at them)  LOST WAYS 2 ( Wordof the day: Prepare! And do it the old fashion way, like our fore-fathers did it and succeed longbefore us,because what lies ahead of us will require all the help we can get. Watch this video and learn the 3 skills that ensured our ancestors survival in hard times offamine and war.)  Liberty Generator (Build and make your own energy source)  Backyard Liberty (Easy and cheap DIY Aquaponic system to grow your organic and living food bank)  Family Self Defense (Best Self Defense Strategies For You And Your Family)  Survive Any Crisis (Best  Items To Hoard For A Long Term Crisis)  Survive The End Days(Biggest Cover Up Of Our President)  Drought USA(Discover The Amazing Device That Turns Air Into Water)  Disclaimer: We at Prepare for Change (PFC) bring you information that is not offered by the mainstream news, and therefore may seem controversial. The opinions, views, statements, and/or information we present are not necessarily promoted, endorsed, espoused, or agreed to by Prepare for Change, its leadership Council, members, those who work with PFC, or those who read its content. However, they are hopefully provocative. Please use discernment! Use logical thinking, your own intuition and your own connection with Source, Spirit and Natural Laws to help you determine what is true and what is not. By sharing information and seeding dialogue, it is our goal to raise consciousness and awareness of higher truths to free us from enslavement of the matrix in this material realm.


prisonplanet--2019-08-20--11 Reasons Why So Many Experts Believe That A US Economic Crisis Is Imminent

11 Reasons Why So Many Experts Believe That A U.S. Economic Crisis Is Imminent

The numbers are telling us that we have never been closer to the next recession than we are right now.  The storm clouds that were gathering on the horizon are now directly above us, and suddenly the mainstream media is filled with storiesabout when the next recession will begin and the effect that this may have on President Trump’s chances of winning in 2020.  In fact, there has been so much chatter about this that even President Trump is talking about it.  All over television, experts are breathlessly speculating about when the coming recession will begin, and they are dispensing lots of advice about how people should be preparing for it.  So what evidence has led so many of these talking heads to come to such a conclusion?  Well, the following are 11 reasons why so many experts now believe that a U.S. economic crisis is imminent…  #1 Last week, the “spread between the U.S. 2-year and 10-year yields” turned negative for the very first time in 12 years.  An inversion of the yield curve has occurred prior to every single U.S. recession since the 1950s, and this is one of the most important economic signals that we have seen yet.  #2 U.S. consumer sentiment just fell to the lowest level that we have seen in all of 2019.  #3 74 percent of the economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics believe that a recession will begin in the United States by the end of 2021.  #4 U.S. industrial production just slipped back into contraction territory.  #5 The IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index just fell to the lowest level that we have seen since September 2009.  #6 Just like we witnessed in 2008, fear and volatility have returned to Wall Street in a major way.  In fact, so far this month we have already seen the 4th and 7th largest single day point declines in U.S. stock market history.  #7 The total number of bankruptcy filings in the United States has been steadily shooting up, and it rose another 5 percent during the month of July.  #8 Major U.S. retailers continue to shut down more stores, and we have continued to stay on a pace that would break the all-time record for store closings in a single year.  #9 As I discussed yesterday, on a year over year basis U.S. freight shipment volume has now fallen for 8 months in a row.  #10 According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the probability that a recession will happen within the next 12 months is now the highest that it has been since the last financial crisis.  #11 President Trump is suggesting that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by 100 basis points and that the Fed should restart quantitative easing as soon as possible.  Both of those moves would be considered to be “emergency measures” that should only happen if a major economic downturn was imminent.  In that list, I didn’t even mention our rapidly escalating trade war with China.  The two largest economies on the entire planet are engaged in an extremely bitter trade dispute, and that alone has the potential to plunge the entire global economy into a very deep downturn.  On the surface, the Trump administration is trying to assure us that everything is going to be just fine, but behind the scenes they appear to be preparing for the worst.  For example, we have just learned that the Trump administration is actually considering pushing for an emergency payroll tax cut…  If the U.S. economy really was “booming”, an emergency payroll tax cut wouldn’t make any sense at all.  But if we are on the verge of a very serious economic crisis, then such a move would make perfect sense.  Of course the U.S. is definitely not the only major economy that is facing serious troubles.  In fact, signs of economic trouble have been emerging all over the globe lately…  In particular, developments in Germany are quite troubling.  Their economy actually contracted last quarter, and the German government is “preparing to embrace new fiscal stimulus measures should its economy stumble into a deep recession”…  We haven’t seen talk like this in a very, very long time.  For many people, the extreme pain caused by the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 has almost faded from memory, but the truth is that many experts believe that what is ahead is going to be even worse.  If everything was going to be just fine, President Trump would not be trying to get the Federal Reserve to make extremely deep interest rate cuts.  In life, what people do is far more important than what they say, and the moves that global leaders are making right now are telling us that huge trouble is coming.  So enjoy the relative stability that we are currently experiencing while you still can, because it looks like it won’t be lasting for too much longer.  This article was posted: Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at 4:04 am


redstate--2019-08-04--Bill Maher Welcomes an Economic Crisis If Itll Oust Trump Its Worth It

Bill Maher Welcomes an Economic Crisis If It’ll Oust Trump – ‘It’s Worth It’

During the Bill Clinton era, the resounding wisdom was, “It’s the economy, stupid.”  Now, at least for Bill Maher, the economy’s stupid — because “It’s the beating of Donald Trump, dummy.”  During Friday’s “Overtime” segment from Bill’s eponymous HBO show Real Time, he offered something with which surely some Democrats would agree: It’d be worth people suffering economically in order to get Donald Trump out of the White House.  I can’t imagine it would strike a ton of people on the far Left as an offense — after all, as we’re constantly told, the man at JFK’s desk absolutely loves being a racist and flaunting it every chance he gets (here, here, and here).  Magically, it would seem, prior to him adding an “R” to his name, such wasn’t the case at all, in any way. That’s the conclusion one can easily draw from all things Trump-related before then — including his hobknobbing with Hollywood, his acceptance in Democratic circles, his mentoring of black cultural influencer Russell Simmons, and his iconic place in the lexicon of rap music.  But he added that “R” and BLAMMO!  Speaking of the racism thing, Bill warned the audience that Trump would again come out ahead if Democrats didn’t “come off less crazy.”  I think Bill’s right (as he was here).  He explained that the Blueys’ best bet is “Trump fatigue.”  “Fatigue is the best thing we’ve got going for us. The majority of Americans aren’t tired of winning, they’re tired of looking at his fat f—ing face!. It’s hard to beat an incumbent in a good economy. Every incumbent since FDR has won if they avoided a recession leading up to an election year, and consumer confidence is sky-high. … The voters that Democrats need to win — moderates who have Trump fatigue — will vote against a good economy, I think, just to get back to normalcy, but they won’t trade it away for left-wing extremism.”  Not Crazy, for some, may be a tall order:  “All the Democrats have to do to win is to come off less crazy than Trump – and, of course, they’re blowing it! Coming across as unserious people who are going to take away all your money so migrants from Honduras can go to college for free and get a major in ‘America sucks.'”  Columnist Josh Barro pointed out that a recession would really hurt people.  Ultimately, Bill’s good with that — if it’s what it takes:  And who can step in for Trump? That would be ol’ faithful Joe Biden:  There’s another reason for Bill to be okay with an economic crisis: He has an estimated net worth of $100 million.  Relevant RedState links in this article: here, here, here, and here.  See 3 more pieces from me:  Bill Maher Smacks The Democrats On 2020: If You Make The Election About This, You’ll Get Creamed  Pistol-Packin’ Granny: 79-Year-Old Arms Herself, Tells Home Invader, ‘I Got Something For You!’  Naked Man Attacks Passenger On D.C. Train, Then Does Calisthenics  And please follow Alex Parker on Twitter and Facebook.  Thank you for reading! Please sound off in the Comments section below.  If you have an iPhone and want to comment, select the box with the upward arrow at the bottom of your screen; swipe left and choose “Request Desktop Site.” If it fails to automatically refresh, manually reload the page. Scroll down to the red horizontal bar that says “Show Comments.”


russiainsider--2019-01-09--The Next Economic Crisis in the West Will Mean the End of the Ukraine

The country lives mostly off of subsidies from the US and the EU. If they decrease, the Ukraine is toast.  Since the “glorious revolution” on Maidan in 2014 it has been possible to trace the precipitous decline of Ukraine step by step both politically and economically. Here is a succession of facts leading to one unmistakable conclusion: the collapse of Ukraine.  The “dramatic shift towards an independent and truly democratic government” was mere pretense. In four years, a collection of oligarchs has managed to gain control over almost every aspect of Ukrainian life. These robber barons – Akhmetov, Firtash, Kolomoisky, Pinchuk, Poroshenko and Pasternak – control the government and just about every sector of the Ukrainian economy.  In order to end its dependence on Russian subsidies (over 200 billion dollars since 1991) Ukraine has allowed itself to be taken over by biotech interests handing over massive agricultural areas to Monsanto and other corporate carpetbaggers. This was necessary – along with assurances to reform shady business practices - in order to secure a 17 billion dollar loan from the IMF ( most of which magically disappeared). Rather than becoming more transparent and efficient due to its alliance with Europe, Ukraine consistently loses $8.6 billion a year to corruption and mismanagement.  The construction of the Nord Stream and South Stream pipelines bypassing Ukraine will deprive it of  at least $2 billion annually in transit fees. On a related topic, the cost of heating one’s home is bound to rise to levels unacceptable to average citizens. In fact, many struggling Ukrainians are already falling behind on their payments and residents in Kiev spent all of last summer with no hot water.  Before the CIA inspired coup in 2014, the GDP of Ukraine was 183 billion dollars. In 2017 it was already down to 112 billion. If that trend continues the country will be bankrupt by 2020. If this is not bad enough, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin has said that nearly a million Ukrainians are leaving the country every year. The current situation is expected to worsen in the years to come, according to Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Social Policy Olga Krentovska.  As Rostislav Ishchenko has shown, Ukrainian high-tech enterprises have lost foreign market share over the past few years and even Ukraine’s agricultural products are being displaced. It is estimated that two out of three dollars of Ukraine’s state budget has been from the West or Russia since 2014. With the next economic recession expected to hit the world in less than three years, Ukraine will be lucky to receive even half of that assistance. America and the EU countries will simply not be able to afford any substantial help to Kiev. In other words, the country is doomed. There is no other way to put it.  The warm fuzzy feelings that proud nationalism has given so many Ukrainians will not be enough to heat their homes next winter or the one after that. Will the citizens of Ukraine continue to suffer in order to “stick it to the Russians”? Or will they rise up against the oligarchs who have plundered the wealth of Ukraine? One thing is for sure…instead of worrying about attempting to sail a ship through the Kerch strait, the authorities in Kiev should be focusing on how to prevent the Ukrainian Titanic from smashing into the financial iceberg it is heading towards at breakneck speed.


russiainsider--2019-01-25--Belarus Looking at Economic Crisis If Lukashenko Fails to Secure Deal With Russia IMF Says

Belarus Looking at Economic Crisis If Lukashenko Fails to Secure Deal With Russia, IMF Says

Lukashenko is acting with a lot of bravado in dealing with Moscow, but his hand is weak. His economy is poor and even modest growth is reliant on continued Russian subsidies -- and that's according to the Western-run IMF  Battered Belarus faces a new economic crisis if Minsk fails to secure full compensation from Russia for losses triggered by the latter’s new energy taxation system (the so-called tax manoeuvre), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest economic outlook released on January 17.  The IMF's medium-term outlook is for "subdued absent vigorous structural reforms, weighed down by unfavourable demographics and weak productivity" in Belarus. At this juncture, medium-term growth is projected at 2%, limiting convergence towards the income levels of richer neighbouring countries, according to the multinational lender.  However, this modest outlook is "conditional" on full compensation from Russia for losses triggered by the so-called tax manoeuvre. "Should compensation be significantly less than full - and this is the key risk hovering over the Belarusian economy at this stage - medium-term growth could be materially lower than 2%, and the budget and current account deficits higher than projected above," the statement reads.  The so-called tax manoeuvre in the Russian oil industry envisages a gradual reduction in the rate of export duty on oil and petroleum products from 30 % to zero in the period from 2019 to 2024 and a proportionate increase in mineral extraction tax on oil production.  According to the Belarusian finance ministry, the country’s budget revenue losses from the tax manoeuvre in 2019 alone were estimated at BYN600mn ($300mn), and that the losses might total $2bn by the end of 2024.  On December 8, a spokesperson for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in a televised interview that Minsk already lost $3.6bn due to Russia's cut of energy subsidies to Belarus. Due to Moscow's 'tax manoeuvre' Belarus will lose extra $11bn within the next four years, the spokesperson added.  Belarus’ foreign exchange reserves stood at around $7.1bn in late December. However, significant part of the reserves were created by bonds issued by the National Bank of Belarus (NBB), which the regulator should repay within the next 12 months. The bondholders of these notes are local commercial banks.  In November, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned the Belarusian government to be prepared "contingency plans" if energy negotiations with Russia fail. "Although the government sees a low probability of less than full compensation for the tax manoeuvre losses, contingency plans would be helpful if such an event were to materialise," the IMF said in a statement.  According to the multinational lender, in such an event, oil-refining activity would be reduced, dampening export revenue and growth. Tax revenues would also be hit due to lower economic activity, lower transfers from Russia, and lower customs duties.  The policy response should aim to mitigate the impact on the balance of payments and facilitate the reallocation of resources in the economy, including structural reforms. "The loss of energy discounts would underscore the need for faster and deeper reform to boost productivity in SOEs, not least in the refineries," the statement reads.  Meanwhile, the IMF believes that exchange rate flexibility to allow the needed adjustment in the balance of payments, supported by fiscal discipline to refrain from untargeted and costly subsidies to the refineries, and with additional measures as needed to maintain debt in a downward trajectory.  At the top of that, tighter monetary policy to maintain inflation within target and limit undue volatility in the foreign exchange market, the multinational lender added.


russiainsider--2019-02-27--Neoliberal Economic Reform Timidity in East Ukraine Has Russia Sliding Toward Internal Political Cr

Neoliberal Economic Reform, Timidity in East Ukraine Has Russia Sliding Toward Internal Political Crisis

A rather harsh criticism of the Russian Government and the Kremlin in this SouthFront analysis.  Sadly, I cannot say that I disagree with what they say.  In fact, I think that they are spot on and that all the “loyal” Kremlin-bots who deny that there is a serious problem in Russia are wrong.  Supporting Vladimir Putin’s struggle to truly make Russia sovereign again and built a new multi-polar world does not at all entail being blind to all the very real mistakes and even faults of the Russian government. I can only say that I hope that SF is right and that the current lack of support of the Russian people of the government’s neo-liberal/capitalist policies will force Putin to correct the course and return to the kind of social policies the Russian people clearly want.  It is also high time for Russia to take a harsher stance on the Ukraine, if only because the situation in the Ukraine (political and economic) is a total disaster and because some kind of military escalation in the Ukraine seems inevitable. All in all, yet another absolutely superb report by SouthFront whose sober analysis contrasts favorably with what both flag-wavers and fear-mongers typically produce.  The Russia of 2019 is in a complicated economic and even political situation. Smoldering conflicts near its borders amid continued pressure from the US and NATO affect the situation in the country negatively. This is manifested in society and in national politics. The approval rating of the Russian government and personally of President Vladimir Putin has been decreasing.  According to VCIOM, a state pollster, in January 2019, Putin’s confidence rating was only 32.8%. This is 24% less than in January 2018 when it was 57.2%. At the same time, the confidence rating of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was 7.8%. The approval rating of his cabinet is 37.7% while the disapproval rating is 38.7%. Opposition sources show data, which is far worse for the current Russian leadership.  This tendency is not linked to the foreign policy course of the Kremlin. Rather, it’s the result of the recent series of liberal-minded economic reforms, which look similar to the approaches exercised by the Russian government in the mid-1990s. The decision to increase Value Added Tax amid the slowing Russian economy, especially in the industrial sector, and a very unpopular pension reform increasing the retirement age were both factors contributing to the further growth of discontent in the population.  Russia’s GDP increased by 2.3% in 2018 compared to 1.6% in 2017. However, the Ministry of Economic Development, in its document entitled “Economic Picture” stated that this is linked to “one-time factors” and is not “stable”. The ministry maintained its earlier forecast stating that GDP growth in 2019 will be 1.3%. It confirmed increasing capital outflow. In this case, the repayment of funds to Western creditors by the Russian private sector is one of the causes.  The Ministry of Economic Development also pointed out that the expendable income of the population decreased by 0.2%. Statutory charges, including the increased taxes, are named as one of the reasons. The document says that statutory charges grew by 14.8% in 2018.  Additionally, the population is facing an increasingly restrictive administrative pressure: new fines and other penalties for minor violations in various fields and additional administrative restrictions limiting the freedom of actions of citizens. Restrictive traffic management of big cities, increasing fees for using federal highways as well as policies that are de-facto aimed at small business and self-employed persons are among its landmarks.  Meanwhile the general population has no effective levers of pressure to affect or correct government policy. The public political sphere has become a desert. United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya) is the only political party still de—facto existing in public politics. By now its ideological and organizational capabilities have become exhausted. Other “political parties and organizations” are just media constructs designed to defend the interests of a narrow group of their sponsors. It is hard to find a lawmaker in the State Duma or the Federation Council, who is not affiliated with the cliquish top political elite and oligarch clans.  In the media sphere, the government has failed to explain its current course to the population. A vast majority of the initiatives of Medvedev’s cabinet face a negative reaction from the population. A spate of scandals involving high and middle level government officials made the situation even worse. These cases revealed blatant hypocrisy and the neglectful attitude to duties of some Russian officials.  Some of the officials even became heroes of nationwide memes. Probably, the most prominent of these heroes are Minister of Labour and Employment of the Saratov region Natalia Sokolova and Head of Department for Youth Policy in the Sverdlov Region Olga Glatskikh.  Sokolova advised Russian pensioners to eat “makaroshki” [a derogatory term for maccheroni] to save money and to thus become able to survive on the subsistence minimum of 3,500 RUB [about 50 USD] per month.  “You will become younger, prettier and slimmer! Makaroshki cost is always the same!”, she said during a meeting of the regional parliamentary group on social policy in October 2018 adding that discounted products can be used to create a “balanced, but dietic” menu.  Glatskikh became a meme hero thank to her meeting with young volunteers during the same month. Commenting on the possible financing of youth projects, she told volunteers that the government did not ask their parents “to give birth” to them. So, they should expect nothing from the state.  In the period from 2018 to 2019, there were multiple arrests of officials caught exceeding the limits of their authority and being involved in corruption schemes. In comparison to previous periods, this number had increased by 1.5-2 times. The most recent detention took place right in the Parliament building on January 30. A 32-year-old senator, Rauf Arashukov, is suspected of being a member of a criminal group involved in the 2010 murders of two people and in pressuring a witness to one of the killings. On the same day, authorities detained his father, an adviser to the chief executive of a Gazprom subsidiary, Raul Arashukov. He is suspected of embezzling natural gas worth 30 billion rubles ($450 million).  However, these actions do not appear to be enough to change the established media situation. After a large-scale corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense in 2012, which led to almost no consequences for key responsible persons including former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who even continued his carrier in state-linked corporation Rostec. The general public has serious reservations about any real success of anti-corruption efforts.  The aforementioned factors fuel the negative perception of the Medvedev government and Vladimir Putin as the head of state among Russian citizens.  The 2014 events in Crimea showed to the Russian population that its state is ready to defend the interests of the nation and those who describe themselves as Russians even by force of arms. This was the first case when this approach was openly employed in the recent history of Russia. Therefore, the population was enthusiastic and national pride was on the rise. However, the Kremlin failed to exploit these gained opportunities and did not use them to strengthen the Russian state. In fact, up to February 2019, the policy towards eastern Ukraine has been inconsistent. At the same time, Moscow continues to lose its influence in post-Soviet states. This can be observed in both the Caucasus and Central Asia. Even, their close ally, Belarus, occasionally demonstrates unfriendly behavior and focuses its own efforts on the exploitation of economic preferences granted by Russia.  Evaluating the current internal political situation in Russia and its foreign policy course, it’s possible to say that the Russian leadership has lost its clear vision of national development and a firm and consistent policy, which are needed for any great power. Another explanation of this is that the Russian leadership is facing pressure from multiple agents of influence, which stand against vision of a powerful independent state seeking to act as one of the centers of power on the global stage. One more factor, often pointed out by experts, is the closed crony-caste system of elites. This system led to the creation of a leadership, which pursues its own narrow clannish interests. Apparently, all of these factors influence Russian foreign and domestic policies in one way or another.  The aforementioned large-scale anti-corruption campaign, regarding the people’s show-me attitude towards its result, could be a sign of a new emerging trend, which would lead to a purge of the corrupt elites and to strategic changes in Russian domestic policy.  It is highly likely that Russia will face hard times in the next two years (2019-2020) and face various threats and challenges to its economy, foreign policy course and even to its statehood.


russiainsider--2019-03-15--RussiaHoax Is Ending - But Now the US Is Ungovernable Unfit to Navigate Looming Economic Crisis

RussiaHoax Is Ending - But Now the US Is Ungovernable, Unfit to Navigate Looming Economic Crisis

You had to wonder why it took Nancy Pelosi so long to figure out that maybe impeachment was not the big rock-candy mountain that, for “the resistance,” marked the gateway to a Trump-free nirvana.  It became obvious this week, through the release of the Bruce Ohr and Lisa Page transcripts, that RussiaGate was birthed entirely by persons in the employ of Hillary Clintion, with then CIA Director John Brennan as midwife, and the DOJ / FBI avidly assisting — all of them fully aware that the predicate was false. What’s more, the evidence timeline makes it clear that Democratic Party leadership, including Nancy Pelosi, knew it was false. Hence, the pained smile she’s been wearing these many months.  In the event of an impeachment proceeding in the House, all that would be revealed, especially if it got as far as a trial in the US Senate, where the defense is allowed to mount a case under rules of evidence. Imagine the howls of embarrassment on late-night TV when even ex-comedian Stephen Colbert would have to admit that he was gulled into acting as a shill for a seditious con.  I suppose Ms. Pelosi also made the calculation that any impeachment ginned up by the likes of Jerrold Nadler and Maxine Waters would be superseded by a slew of actual indictments among the above-mentioned former law enforcement officialdom, including perhaps former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and persons in the Obama White House. You might even include the enigmatic Robert Mueller, who appears to be liable for the destruction of evidence in his own inquiry, as well as malicious prosecution.  All the actual evidence in the public arena indicates that any “collusion” to interfere with the 2016 election involved agents of the Clinton campaign and US government employees, not Russians. Of course, it will not be so easy for Mr. Nadler and Ms. Waters to call off the committee exercises they’ve been rehearsing, but it will be fun to watch them pissing into the wind as the indictments roll out.  In his new book, Peak Trump, David Stockman called the RussiaGate affair “a Democratic Party Bereavement Ritual,” an excellent diagnosis. The breast-beating and garment-rending has gone on for more than two years, inducing a generalized hysteria that has made it impossible for this country to govern itself, and opening the door to some really serious mischief as the party’s new Jacobin wing sets up for the advent of an American failed state.  All of this is a prelude to equally serious tribulation roaring down the two-lane pike of finance and economy that will combine with the engineered destruction of institutional authority from RussiaGate to bring on the greatest crisis since the Civil War. The money is not there to perform any of the miracles of redistribution promised by AOC and Bernie Sanders — unless the Federal Reserve is coerced into printing a whole lot more money out of thin air, in which case the consequence will be that everybody gets to have a lot of worthless money that has lost its value.  If congress wants to play committee games, it might want to investigate how the USA is going to rack up another $2 trillion in debt to finance its operations before the 2020 election. They’re the ones who will have to vote to allow that to happen. The disorders of money coming down in the months ahead, RussiaGate aside, are sure to discredit both political parties. I doubt that Mr. Trump will survive it politically and the revenant Republican Party behind him is so devoid of credible leadership that it could dissolve altogether like an evening mist preceding the cold darkness of night. By then, the whole American political establishment will be, as Mencken quipped, like a blind man stumbling around a dark cellar looking for a black cat that isn’t there.  Hysterias don’t last forever, but the economic depression ahead will last a long, long time, and the nation will have to find some way to adjust to a lower standard of living. None of the nostrums currently in the air — the guaranteed basic income, Medicare for all, the Green New Deal — will avail to alter that fate. The big question is just how disorderly and violent the journey through that will have to be.


russiainsider--2019-03-15--Who Will Suffer Most in Next Economic Crisis

Who Will Suffer Most in Next Economic Crisis?

The author is a prominent American social critic, blogger, and podcaster, and one of our all-time favorite pessimists. We carry his articles regularly on RI. His writing on Russia-gate has been highly entertaining.  He is one of the better-known thinkers The New Yorker has dubbed 'The Dystopians' in an excellent 2009 profile, along with the brilliant Dmitry Orlov, another regular contributor to RI (archive). These theorists believe that modern society is headed for a jarring and painful crack-up.  You can find his popular fiction and novels on this subject, here. To get a sense of how entertaining he is, watch this 2004 TED talk about the cruel misery of American urban design - it is one of the most-viewed on TED. Here is a recent audio interview with him which gives a good overview of his work.  Just as presidents are expected to act presidentially, Federal Reserve chairpersons are expected to act oracularly — as semi-supernatural beings who emerge now and again from some cave of mathematical secrets to offer reassuringly cryptic utterances on mysteries of the economy. And so was Jerome Powell wheeled out on CBS’s 60 Minutes Sunday night, like a cigar store Indian at an antique fair, so vividly sculpted and colorfully adorned you could almost imagine him saying something.  Maybe it was an hallucination, but I heard him say that “the economy is in a good place,” and that “the outlook is a favorable one.” Point taken. Pull the truck up to the loading dock and fill it with Tesla shares!  I also thought I heard “Inflation is muted.” That must have been the laugh line, since there is almost no single item in the supermarket that goes for under five bucks these days. But really, when was the last time you saw a cigar store Indian at Trader Joes? It took seventeen Federal Reserve math PhD’s to come up with that line, inflation is muted.  What you really had to love was Mr. Powell’s explanation for the record number of car owners in default on their monthly payments: “…not everybody is sharing in this widespread prosperity we have.”  Errrgghh Errrgghh Errrgghh. Sound of klaxon wailing. What he meant to say was, hedge-funders, private equity hustlers, and C-suite personnel are making out just fine as the asset-stripping of flyover America proceeds, and you miserable, morbidly obese, tattooed gorks watching this out on the Midwestern buzzard flats should have thought twice before dropping out of community college to drive a forklift in the Sysco frozen food warehouse (where, by the way, you are probably stealing half the oven-ready chicken nuggets in inventory).  Interlocutor Scott Pelley asked the oracle about “those half-a-million people who have given up looking for jobs.” Did he pull that number out of his shorts? The total number out of the workforce is more like 95 million, and when you subtract retirees, people still in school, and the disabled, the figure is more like 7.5 million. There was some blather over the “opioid epidemic,” the upshot of which was learn to code, young man. Personally, I was about as impressed as I was ten years ago when past oracle Ben Bernanke confidently explained to congress that the disturbances in Mortgage-land were “contained.”  David Leonhardt of The New York Times had a real howler in his Monday column on the state of the economy:  Here’s what’s actually going on in that beast known as The Economy: Globalism is winding down as a decade of Central Bank machinations reach their limits of deception, leaving the major trading nations with little more than comparative disadvantages. Europe is dissolving into political chaos. Japan is cannibalizing itself in preparation for its return to the Tokugawa shogunate. China is groaning with factories that turn out too much stuff; America is groaning with so much of that stuff that it’s turning into Yard Sale Nation. In the background of all that are the problematic flows of oil on tankers through dangerous chokepoints like the Straits of Molucca and the Straits of Hormuz, with a looming horizon on the supply as US shale oil production chokes to death on unpayable debt.  It has been easier to maintain the pretense of economic stability while all the perversities of finance and banking are being acted out in the current fiascos of government. But the tide is surely going out now and, as another ersatz oracle, Warren Buffett, once observed about such situations: pretty soon you get to see who’s been swimming naked. In the American lagoon, you will soon behold the awful spectacle of the beached whale known as President Trump flopping helplessly around the mud-flats, emitting inchoate threnodies from his blowhole. Ironically, he’ll be flopping and gasping at the same time that his antagonists are stricken by a red tide of indictments, perhaps including even the Captain Ahab of the Resistance: Robert Mueller. The Ides of March are upon us.


russiainsider--2019-06-27--A Crushing Economic Crisis Will Ultimately Destroy Zionist Power in America

Pundits and keen observers of the current state of affairs in America are divided over how and why the country will eventually collapse. There are those who believe the country’s Achilles heel is its astronomical level of unsustainable debt that will lead to economic disaster. Another group maintains that de-dollarization in the global economy - following the lead of China and Russia – will eventually destroy the United States.  A third group maintains that America will be torn apart by a civil war between the progressive forces pitted against the racist and reactionary right.  There is something to be said for all three of these positions, but the biggest threat to America actually comes from Zionism.  In 1975 when the United Nations still had some semblance of independence, a resolution was passed identifying Zionism with racism. This resolution (# 3379) was unequivocal in its condemnation. And rightfully so. Any visit to the Holy Land will convince the open- minded tourist that Zionism is – unfortunately – a most virulent form of racism. In fact, former president Jimmy Carter refers to Israel as an “Apartheid” state – an observation for which he was unjustly labeled an “anti-Semitic”. This strategy of attacking any critic of Zionist racism as “anti-Semitic” (an ad hominen attack) serves two purposes: it demonizes the opponent of Zionism by focusing on the character of a person rather than analyzing the issue being raised by the critic.  This shuts off rational discourse (debate). Focusing on the critic rather than the issue changes the topic from ideology to personality. This also results in censorship. Speaking of…  There is serious discussion within government and academic circles to have any criticism of the state of Israel equated with “anti-Semitism”. This is the ugly face of Zionism subverting one of our most precious rights: freedom of speech.  This tactic of re-directing criticism of Zionism to a discussion of the critic’s “obvious”:anti-Semitism” is a common trick used by Zionists. It obscures the nefarious role of Zionism.  The owners of the American news media (overwhelmingly Zionists) use a similar tactic by creating a cult of personalities placed into positions of influence and power to deflect attention away from the racist ideology of Zionism. The popularity of Rachel Maddow on “the left “and Sean Hannity (on the right) serves the purpose of having the Goyim argue over personalities rather than the substance of issues like Zionism which is currently the driving force behind American foreign policy.  This is a standard “divide and conquer” tactic.  It will eventually back-fire, however. When America attacks Iran – as it will be forced into doing somewhere down the road – the outcome will be devastating for the United States. The war against Iran will certainly not be a “cake-walk”. When the price of oil sky-rockets to $500 a barrel or more because of this conflict, the impact on the American economy will be catastrophic. Then – and only then – in the midst of a crushing economic depression will America have a chance to defeat the Zionists ‘stranglehold on our government and financial system. For at some point during this crisis real patriots will come forth to reclaim American sovereignty.


sottnet--2019-02-10--US blockade cost Venezuela 350 billion since 2013 primary reason for economic crisis

US blockade cost Venezuela $350 billion since 2013, primary reason for economic crisis

Blocking a country financially is paramount when trying to asphyxiate the national economy.  The Economic Debates Unit of the Latin American Geopolitical Strategic Center (CELAG) released a report on "the economic consequences of the boycott against Venezuela," on Friday, in which it is proved that the "international financial blockade to Venezuela since 2013 is the main responsible for the economic crisis."According to CELAG's report, the financial and economic blockade that was mainly, would have cost Venezuela around US$350 billion "in the production of goods and services between 2013 and 2017."The external attacks are able to undermine the economic and productive capacity of the country, and therefore, destroy the economy. According to the study,The U.S. government led by Donald Trump is arguing in favor of military intervention in Venezuela, to allegedly end a so-called "humanitarian crisis," but the "alleged humanitarian crisis andAccording to the researchers,. "The US government justifies an eventual intervention, based in the alleged humanitarian catastrophe and in the massive emigration that its blockade, precisely, would have created."Venezuela has been forced out of financial markets, which led to the impossibility of accessing credits., "agencies such as Standards & Poor's or Moody's, have put the country-risk rate above 2,000 points since 2015," according to the CELAG report.Venezuela is a country that enters the global market mainly because of its oil production.According to the study, since President Nicolas Maduro was sworn-in in 2013, "the Venezuelan public sector stopped receiving in net terms flows that in the quinquennium 2008-2012, more than USD$95 billion dollars, that is, about USD$19 billion per year," due to the blockade. On top of that, the government had to pay higher amounts of money due to the country-risk rates, for external debt. "The Venezuelan Government had to pay more than US$17 billion dollars in the five-year period 2013-2017, about US$3.3 billion dollars per year."The study adds that the Venezuelan economy and society "suffered international asphyxiation of US$22.5 billion dollars a year resulting from a deliberate international strategy of financial isolation.If the Venezuelan government had the possibility of accessing over US$22 billion a year, the economy would be in a better place today. "As a consequence of the blockade, losses in the production of goods and services oscillated between a range of USD$350 billion and USD$260 billion in the period 2013-2017."The study concludes that,


sottnet--2019-03-29--Erdogan blames US for triggering 2018 economic crisis in Turkey

Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn't fit in with the core belief.


sputnik--2019-03-19--Economic War Against Us Venezuela Sanctions Asset Seizures Cause of Crisis

‘Economic War Against Us’: Venezuela Sanctions, Asset Seizures Cause of ‘Crisis’

On Monday, the US State Department "was pleased to support" the seizure by Venezuelan opposition forces of three buildings in the United States belonging to the Venezuelan government, State Department spokesperson Robert Palladino said. Self-proclaimed Interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido's envoy to Washington, Carlos Vecchio, told Reuters the opposition had gained control of two buildings in Washington, DC, belonging to the Venezuelan Defense Ministry as well as a consular building in New York.  Vecchio said they expected more such seizures "in the days to come."  The move follows a statement by Guaido on Saturday claiming "we do have control over Citgo," the US subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA, "and a license to continue the company's activities," Sputnik reported.  In late January, the US moved to block $7 billion in revenue from returning to Venezuela. Last Thursday, the US Treasury extended Citgo's license for another 18 months, enabling it to collect money for Guaido's opposition movement, "while prohibiting any benefit from flowing back to the illegitimate Maduro regime," the Treasury said.  Other assets owned by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have also been seized since January 23, when just three days after Maduro began the second term he was elected to, Guaido, with US backing, declared himself president instead. In early February, the Bank of England froze $1.56 billion in gold assets owned by Caracas following a request by Guaido for London not to permit their repatriation.  Radio Sputnik's Loud and Clear spoke about the situation in Venezuela with Gloria La Riva, the director of the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee, who just returned from a month-long stay in the country.  "They've already seized Citgo in the United States, and very likely gave instructions to England, its ally, to not release the gold that is the property of Venezuela… which they need immediately for liquidity. But, on March 1, Dulcy Rodriguez, the vice president, did announce that the Portuguese headquarters of PDVSA, the oil industry, has been moved to Moscow to protect it, and they are working much more closely together to find a way that Russia can invest more fully in the oil operation," La Riva said.  "I think the US media will continue to churn out lies, the most incredible accusations, in order to soften up and make it difficult for people to oppose US military actions and economic actions," she said. "The sanctions are what are causing the crisis in Venezuela. I mentioned ‘crisis' to somebody there, some of the women who were working in the food distribution. They said, ‘It's not an economic crisis, it's an economic war against us.' We need to make that clear. And the danger is there: the dangers of US war," which La Riva mentioned means both military intervention but also the rise of paramilitary proxies, such as the US has supported in many other Central and South American countries.  However, despite these moves to strangle Venezuela's economy and to portray its society as chaotic and inadequately governed, La Riva, who spent most of her recent trip in the capital city of Caracas, said, "Venezuela looks very normal."  "It's modern; there's many people in the street," she said. "Until the blackout, the transport was working, the metro was free, packed with people traveling to work and elsewhere. All the shops are open; the stores are full of food — every kind of store, the super modern markets down to the smaller neighborhood stores. Of course, there's the issue of prices, in the larger private stores, and we can talk about that, but food is readily available everywhere."  "I think the most interesting thing is, besides the national food distribution program to 6 million families, meaning about 24 million people in Venezuela" out of a total population of 31 million, "that there are many, many sellers of fruits and vegetables in the street, at affordable prices," La Riva told hosts John Kiriakou and Brian Becker.  La Riva said she was due to fly out of Caracas the night the power went out for the first time, and the outage kept her there for another four days.  "That first night, I was extremely worried. I said, ‘Are they going to try and kill President Maduro? Is there going to be troops on the ground? What's happening?'" The next morning, she found out it was sabotage, and said the power winked in and out for days, but despite the instability, hospitals had their own backup generators and were able to weather the storm.  However, while the official investigation continues into the cause and origin of the blackout, which shut down the Guri dam in Bolivar state, and along with it 73 percent of Venezuela's electrical output, the consensus seems to be it was some form of cyber attack.  "It still has to be filtered out, but Venezuela says they will present this to the United Nations. I think it will take some time, " La Riva said.  However, the power problems persist. Sunday night into Monday, another blackout struck parts of Caracas, the cause of which is as yet unknown, Sputnik reported.  Following a transformer explosion in the hills outside Caracas Monday afternoon, a wildfire erupted on the hillside that further endangered other electrical cables, observers noted. However, the fire was mostly extinguished by nightfall.  La Riva cautioned that the official story touted by Washington and the mainstream media about the outage might change, too. "There are already two disclosures after initial accusations, as you know: the New York Times showing that the accusation that Maduro ordered the burning of the humanitarian aid — so-called — trucks on the bridge on February 23, caused by the fascists who were lobbing Molotov cocktails."  "But there's also the admission that the drone attack was an assassination attempt… on August 4 of last year. US officials said, ‘Oh, he's trying to just claim an assassination attempt so that he can get more support.' Well, in fact was. It was based, the planning, the setting up of the drone and the bombs in the drone, in Colombia," she said.


sputnik--2019-05-29--Economic Slowdown Agri-Crisis Biggest Challenges for Modi Govt 20 - Analysts

Economic Slowdown, Agri-Crisis Biggest Challenges for Modi Gov't 2.0 - Analysts

New Delhi (Sputnik): The Election Manifesto of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had envisaged growing India's economy to $5 trillion by the year 2025 from $2.8 trillion in 2018.  Certain media reports have suggested that Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may not take up the office again due to poor health. However, the government has denied such reports as baseless.  According to Senior Business Journalist and author R.N. Bhaskar, in light of recent media reports, the finance minister clearly has a difficult task ahead; no matter who takes the helm at the Ministry of Finance, there are certain economic challenges India needs to address.  READ MORE:China May Disrupt Indian Market Amid Trade Tensions With the US — Fitch  "Basically, I feel there is a slowdown in the economy. The Index of Industrial Production stats have vindicated that. There is also a slowdown in capital formation in the country. It indicates that no new investments are taking place, no new industries are coming up and hence there are no new jobs," he added.  Reports published by Ind-Ra, an Indian ratings and research agency, have suggested that FY2019 GDP growth will total 6.9%, less than the earlier advanced estimate of 7.0%. Reported growth in FY2018 was 7.2%.  To fix the slowdown in economic growth, Bhaskar suggested that numerous steps need to be taken.  "If the new government really wants to arrest the economic slowdown, it needs to create more jobs. For creating jobs, I would suggest some crucial steps. There is an untapped potential in the solar sector. We need to take full advantage of the solar sector. We need to develop our rooftop solar infrastructure," he said.  The agrarian, or agricultural, crisis was one of the primary issues taken up by the opposition parties in their bid to corner the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government. The previous BJP-led government came up with the policy of providing Rs. 6,000 (86 USD) in annual farmer support to 120 million small and marginal farmers in India.  While many BJP critics called this as a "populist" move, Bhaskar believes otherwise. "I don't believe that the Modi government was "populist" in its policies. The steps that were taken were the need of the hour.  The agriculture sector was in disarray and the farmers' support income was essential."  READ MORE:Analyst Outlines Three Possible Factors Behind Modi's BJP Re-Election Success  Tarun Kumar, a Delhi-based economist, believes that while the agrarian crisis did affect the earlier Modi government's economic progress, there were other factors too which needed to be sorted out.  "The Modi government 2.0 will not have some of the challenges which they faced in the first term. In the first term the government's focus was on repairing the stressed banking system and undertaking structural economic resets. There was pressure to control India's fiscal deficit (combined) with a tight monetary policy and they have done substantially well to address those issues," Kumar said.  "However in their second term, I would expect the BJP-led government to step up infrastructure expenditure and create more jobs by trying to bring in more foreign investments. The only way to go about it is to ease the process by which foreign investors spread their business in India by reducing the bureaucratic red-tapism," he added.  Narendra Modi is scheduled to take the oath of office and secrecy as the Prime Minister of India for his second term on 30 May.  Views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect Sputnik's position.


sputnik--2019-08-15--Identity Crisis Due to Hong Kongs Economic Eclipse by China Underlies Protests

Identity Crisis Due to Hong Kong’s Economic Eclipse by China Underlies Protests

Clashes between demonstrators and police broke out in the urban area of Kowloon in Hong Kong Wednesday, just a couple days after anti-Beijing protesters stormed the Hong Kong International Airport on Monday, causing the airport to cancel all flights in and out of the city until all of the protesters left the airport.  Mass protests erupted in Hong Kong in early June when authorities announced they were considering making amendments to a bill that would allow the semi-autonomous Chinese city to extradite suspects to jurisdictions with which it did not have an extradition agreement, including mainland China. While Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced in July that the bill was “dead,” the protests have continued, diffusing into a generalized anti-China sentiment.  More than 500 protesters have been arrested and nearly 150 police officers injured over the past several weeks, Hong Kong Police Senior Superintendent Kong Wing-Cheung told reporters last week.  “I think it is complicated, and I don’t think they’re about one single thing,” Woodward told hosts John Kiriakou and Brian Becker about the protests. “Certainly, they were triggered by mishandled piece of legislation by Carrie Lam, the head of Hong Kong … that’s the type of agreement that Hong Kong has many countries and China has with many, many countries, but didn’t have with Hong Kong itself, even though Hong Kong was formerly part of China.”  Hong Kong was a colony of the British empire from 1841 to 1997, when it became a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China.  “There was [resentment] triggered by this legislation, because it was claimed it would be used to extradite political opponents of the regime in mainland China. This is actually not the case, because the kind of crimes that were covered by the legislation were limited and didn’t include political crimes. That’s what triggered protests, but clearly there were underlying grievances or concerns which were driving some of this,” Woodward explained.  “Property prices in Hong Kong have gone through the roof, unemployment in Hong Kong has begun to rise, and the economic position of Hong Kong has declined dramatically compared to the economic position of mainland China. So the position of the past, where Hong Kong saw itself as, and was indeed, the driver of the economy of the whole of China [is no longer]. Hong Kong is becoming dependent economically on the economic strength of mainland China, and so this has led to all kinds of tension and changes in self-perception, etc. So, I think a number of these issues underlie the protests.”  In his usual fashion, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday tweeted, “Many are blaming me, and the United States, for the problems going on in Hong Kong. I can’t imagine why?”  The tweet comes as Beijing has accused Washington of inciting the protests in Hong Kong in an effort to undermine the Chinese government, and tensions between the US and China continue to rise amid an ongoing trade war. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, images of Julie Eadeh, the political unit chief of the US Consulate General in Hong Kong, meeting with key figures of the protests emerged in Beijing-backed media outlets last week.  “I would say that [Trump’s tweet] was very much poking China. The phrase ‘I can’t imagine why,’ is generally used ironically, with the implication that it is completely obvious why. So, it is obvious why such claims are made - because the US has a hand in stirring this up. It’s been meeting with protesters. Some of the leaders of this protest were involved in a previous protest a couple of years ago called the Umbrella Movement, and they were invited to meet members of Congress, [former Secretary of State] Hillary Clinton, etc. at the time. There is no question that the US has had a hand in this, as indeed has Britain, which has also been encouraging and stirring up the protesters in various ways,” Woodward explained.  “It’s ironic that these young people [protesters] are holding up the previous Hong Kong colonial flag, the US flag and the union flag of Britain when Britain obviously was the colonial occupier,” Woodward said of the protesters. “These young people … they have some complete illusion as to what the US and Britain represent … which is fed by the media and by social media … directly by the US and Britain in particular.”


sputnik--2019-09-03--Argentinian Stock Market Plummets Almost 14 Amid Economic Crisis

Argentinian Stock Market Plummets Almost 14% Amid Economic Crisis

As of 17.48 GMT, Merval was down 14.07 percent to 22,510 after rising 6.45 percent to 26,195.41 on Monday.  The index rose to an all-time high of 44,470.76 on August 9, but lost as many as 38 percent on August 12 after the opposition's unexpected victory in the primaries. The presidential election in the country is set for October.  At the same time, the national currency's exchange rate has not changed. Banco Nacion, the country's largest state bank, sells US dollars at 57 pesos, the other large banks sell it at 58-60 pesos.  The Central Bank of Argentina has already taken a number of measures to support the financial market. Since August 30, it has introduced capital controls, requiring banks to obtain preliminary authorization to distribute their earnings abroad. It has also decided to restrict large export companies’ access to Argentine peso in an effort to make them sell dollars.  Since the announcement of the preliminary elections results in mid-August, Argentina’s economy has faced a downturn which resulted in a sharp peso drop and prompted international credit rating agencies to downgrade the rating of Latin America’s third-largest economy.