Principled Observers,
If we consider the actual power-struggle in our world to be between old-money, seeking to maintain ownership of usurous loans and pledged assets, which grow exponentially, as stagnant real economy looks at terminal decline in post-peak oil, and populist nationalist interests, seeking to rebuild constructively, then many things make more apparent sense.
The paradox for well-established global finance, now that it has the mechanisms in place for the "Great Taking", is that enforcement of this legal-construct will destroy society, because it is so grossly unjust, and therefore destroy actual wealth.
Elites are divided into groups that would carry out the "Great Taking", and pay to enforce it, maintaining their ownership positions, opposed by other elites who would seek to rebuild productive economies to support their societies, and enlist citizens in this rebuilding with revised social contracts, reminiscent of Roosevelt's "New Deal".
When I look at European and UK political elites using the specter of a Russian threat to build up their militaries, I see that it is hopeless to get in a war with Russia, but that they are likely to be able to use the war funding to build up forces to suppress their own citizens in the financial collapse.
There is palpable fear and anger in liberal-minded Americans about a "neo-Nazi" movement of Trump/MAGA supporters. This was discussed at length in my Buddhist group today after our practice and meditation.
I did not point out that the actual structural economic problems are vastly worse than acknowledged, even by Team Trump (for which I did not vote, myself). I noticed some people externalized projections of the "problem" onto the "others" a literal fear of Nazis.
No personal worry about becoming a Nazi was openly voiced. The assumption seemed to be that "we are not that kind of people", but I personally recall being squelched during COVID in the fall of 2021 when I gave advice on early treatment with repurposed antivirals. My earlier advice on taking Vitamin D-3 to support one's immune system had been well received in early 2020, but in the fall of 2021 my mic was muted and was I harshly told that I was completely wrong, end of discussion.
There was some schadenfreude expressed that winter about a man who had died of COVID after refusing vaccination, leaving a wife and large family behind. I looked up the Go-fund-me, donated, and emailed the group how to do that, since they had expressed concern...
If you notice me externalizing my demons onto somebody else, do feel free to point it out. It's not what I want to do.
We all have to look at ourselves. I am inviting your observations openly here. I'm not offering such uninvited observations to anybody, myself.
Putin peels off the masks of the ceasefire kabuki, Pepe Escobar
The “ceasefire” announced with trademark bombast by Team Trump 2.0 should be seen as a tawdry kabuki inside a cheap matryoshka...
..Cue to the actual peel off operation: Putin’s press conference after his meeting with Lukashenko in Moscow.
Ceasefire? Of course. We support it. And then, methodically, diplomatically, the Russian President pulled a Caravaggio, and went all-out chiaroscuro on every geopolitical and military detail of the American gambit. A consumate artful deconstruction.
End result: the ball is now back in Donald Trump’s court...
..Cue to the actual peel off operation: Putin’s press conference after his meeting with Lukashenko in Moscow.
Ceasefire? Of course. We support it. And then, methodically, diplomatically, the Russian President pulled a Caravaggio, and went all-out chiaroscuro on every geopolitical and military detail of the American gambit. A consumate artful deconstruction.
End result: the ball is now back in Donald Trump’s court...
..Putin was gracious enough to thank “the President of the United States, Mr. Trump, for paying so much attention to resolving the conflict.”...
..“This ceasefire should lead to a long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis.”
As in all Russian key imperatives – widely known since at least June 2024 – will have to be satisfied. After all, it’s Russia that’s winning the war in the battlefield, not the U.S., the – already fragmented – NATO, and much less Ukraine.
Putin was adamant on the ceasefire: “We are for it.” But there are nuances; once again, it’s called diplomacy...
As in all Russian key imperatives – widely known since at least June 2024 – will have to be satisfied. After all, it’s Russia that’s winning the war in the battlefield, not the U.S., the – already fragmented – NATO, and much less Ukraine.
Putin was adamant on the ceasefire: “We are for it.” But there are nuances; once again, it’s called diplomacy...
..Once again Putin deferred, diplomatically, to the “need to work with our American partners. Maybe I will speak to President Trump.” So there will be another phone call soon...
..Trump... ramped up sanctions on Russia’s oil, gas and banking, allowing the waiver on Russian oil sales to expire this week. [Known to hurt Europe.]
That means in practice that the EUro-vassals and other assorted “allies” cannot buy Russian oil anymore without evading U.S. sanctions...
That means in practice that the EUro-vassals and other assorted “allies” cannot buy Russian oil anymore without evading U.S. sanctions...
..The Brit ruling classes, MI6, their media and think tanks, simply abhor any negotiations. They are at direct, frontal war with Russia, and their plan A – no plan B – remains the same: inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow, as the SVR knows inside out.
The heart of the matter is the Black Sea. Vladimir Karasev’s analysis, as explained to TASS, is spot on: “The British have already entered the city of Odessa, which they view as a key location. Their special services are heavily involved there. The British do not conceal their desire to establish a naval base in Odessa.”
Odessa is part of the extensive menu of Ukraine’s resources already, in thesis, handed over to the Brits under the shady – and completely illegal – 100-year agreement signed between Starmer and the sweaty sweatshirt in Kiev.
According to the dodgy deal and its made in the shade footnotes, Zelensky already gave away to the Brits all sorts of control over minerals, nuclear power plants, underground gas storage facilities, key ports (including Odessa), and hydroelectric power plants.
On the ongoing minerals/rare earth saga in 404 – or what will be left of it – the Brits are in vicious, direct competition with the Americans...
Odessa is part of the extensive menu of Ukraine’s resources already, in thesis, handed over to the Brits under the shady – and completely illegal – 100-year agreement signed between Starmer and the sweaty sweatshirt in Kiev.
According to the dodgy deal and its made in the shade footnotes, Zelensky already gave away to the Brits all sorts of control over minerals, nuclear power plants, underground gas storage facilities, key ports (including Odessa), and hydroelectric power plants.
On the ongoing minerals/rare earth saga in 404 – or what will be left of it – the Brits are in vicious, direct competition with the Americans...
..A serious discussion running across informed circles in Moscow is that Putin by all means will never sacrifice Russia’s “indivisibility of security” demands posed to Washington in December 2021 – and met with a no-response response. NATO of course will never agree to it. The final decision will have to come from POTUS. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2025/03/14/putin-peels-off-masks-of-the-ceasefire-kabuki/
Offer good through Sunday. No surrender orders from Kiev, yet: Putin Calls For All Ukrainians In Kursk To Surrender, 'Sympathetic' To Trump's Request To Spare Lives https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-phone-call-asks-putin-spare-lives-ukrainian-troops-surrounded-kursk
Gilbert Doctorow, Vladimir Putin’s ‘Yes, but…’ response to Trump’s cease-fire: how it looks the morning after
I was especially pleased to set out my view that the mildly positive position on the cease-fire taken by Putin is explained by what other talks are ongoing in great secrecy with the Trump administration, and most particularly in the time that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff spent in Moscow yesterday. We know nothing about this and, to be sure, at this stage we have no right to know since the parties are at the very start of a difficult discussion. But there is reason to believe that the substance of Witkoff’s mission was not to go into lines on the map representing the future borders of Ukraine and Russia after a peace treaty is signed. My peers have rightly said that such military affairs are entirely out of the competence of real estate developer Witkoff. But he surely has the ability to take forward Donald Trump’s plans for a thorough reset of Russian -American relations in what will become a new governing board of the world at which Russia, the USA, China and India have seats. Note: for the first time since 1945 Europe will have no seat at the table. The EU countries have totally discredited themselves as a force for peace in the world. https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2025/03/14/vladimir-putins-yes-but-response-to-trumps-cease-fire-how-it-looks-the-morning-after/
The US-proposed 30-day ceasefire would not entail martial law being lifted, Mikhail Podoliak has said https://swentr.site/news/614238-no-election-ukraine-truce-podolyak/
European industry will starve until then, and people will freeze in the dark. NATO countries should restore ties with Russia – bloc chief
It would be “normal” for relations to be resumed once the Ukraine conflict is over, Mark Rutte has suggested https://swentr.site/news/614242-nato-russia-relations-rutte/Schumer was afraid Musk would have free rein during a shutdown. Senate Passes GOP Bill, Avoiding Government Shutdown https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democrats-furious-after-schumer-folds-gop-bill
$20 billion Disappeared into a special investment vehicle at Citibank: A New Beltway Intrigue: Follow The Biden EPA Money https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-beltway-intrigue-follow-biden-epa-money
“’You’ll own nothing and be happy’? David Webb has gone through the 50-year history of all the legal constructs that have been put in place to technically enable that to happen.”
The derivatives bubble has been estimated to exceed one quadrillion dollars (a quadrillion is 1,000 trillion). The entire GDP of the world is estimated at $105 trillion, or 10% of one quadrillion; and the collective wealth of the world is an estimated $360 trillion.....Initially they were [held by] banks –led by four mega-banks, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. But according to a 2023 book called The Great Taking by veteran hedge fund manager David Rogers Webb, counterparty risk on all of these bets is ultimately assumed by an entity called the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), through its nominee Cede & Co... Cede & Co. is now the owner of record of all of our stocks, bonds, digitized securities, mortgages, and more; and it is seriously under-capitalized, holding capital of only $3.5 billion, clearly not enough to satisfy all the potential derivative claims. Webb thinks this is intentional.
What happens if the DTCC goes bankrupt? Under The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) of 2005, derivatives have “super-priority” in bankruptcy... Derivative claimants don’t even need to go through the bankruptcy court but can simply nab the collateral from the bankrupt estate, leaving nothing for the other secured creditors (including state and local governments) or the banks’ unsecured creditors (including us, the depositors). And in this case the “bankrupt estate” – the holdings of the DTCC/Cede & Co. – includes all of our stocks, bonds, digitized securities, mortgages, and more.....It’s all laid out in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), tested in precedent, and validated by court rulings. The UCC is a privately-established set of standardized rules for transacting business, which has been ratified by all 50 states and includes key provisions that have been “harmonized” with the laws of other countries in the Western orbit...
..Webb summarizes in the introduction: It is about the taking of collateral (all of it), the end game of the current globally synchronous debt accumulation super cycle. This scheme is being executed by long-planned, intelligent design, the audacity and scope of which is difficult for the mind to encompass. Included are all financial assets and bank deposits, all stocks and bonds; and hence, all underlying property of all public corporations, including all inventories, plant and equipment; land, mineral deposits, inventions and intellectual property. Privately owned personal and real property financed with any amount of debt will likewise be taken, as will the assets of privately owned businesses which have been financed with debt. If even partially successful, this will be the greatest conquest and subjugation in world history...
..Warren Buffett famously described derivatives as “weapons of financial mass destruction,” but they did not start out that way. Initially they were a form of insurance for farmers to guarantee the price of their forthcoming crops. In a typical futures contract, the miller would pay a fixed price for wheat not yet harvested. The miller assumed the risk that the crops would fail or market prices would fall, while the farmer assumed the risk that prices would rise, limiting his potential profit...
..Webb writes:n In the late 1960’s, something called the Banking and Securities Industry Committee (BASIC) had been formed to find a solution to the “paperwork crisis.” It seemed the burdens of handling physical stock certificates had suddenly become too great, so much so, that the New York Stock exchange had suspended trading some days. “Lawmakers” then urged the government to step into the process. The BASIC report recommended changing from processing physical stock certificates to “book-entry” transfers of ownership via computerized entries in a trust company that would hold the underlying certificates “immobilized.”
Thus was established the Depository Trust Company (DTC), which began operations in 1973, after President Nixon decoupled the dollar from gold internationally. The DTC decoupled stock ownership from paper stock certificates. The purchasers who had put up the money became only “beneficial owners” entitled to interest, dividends and voting rights, leaving title of record in the DTC. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) was established in 1999 to combine the functions of the DTC and the National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC). The DTCC settles most securities transactions in the U.S. Title of record is with DTC’s nominee Cede & Co... Greg Morse notes that the dictionary definition of “cede” is to “relinquish title.”...
..The next step in the decoupling process was to establish “legal certainty” that the “anointed” creditors could take all, by amending the UCC in all 50 states. This was done quietly over many years, without an act of Congress...
..The next step was to “harmonize” the laws internationally so that there would be no escape, at least in the Western orbit. Webb learned this by personal experience, having moved to Sweden to escape, only to have Swedish law subsequently “harmonized” with the “legal certainty” provisions of the UCC.....The last step was to establish “safe harbor” in the 2005 Bankruptcy Code revisions – meaning “’safe harbor’ for secured creditors against the demands of customers to their own assets.”...
..Among other hazards, super-priority has contributed to the explosion in speculative derivatives, threatening the stability of national and global markets.....Webb does not say much about solutions; his goal seems to be to sound the alarm. What can we do to protect our assets? “Probably nothing,” he quoted a knowledgeable expert in a recent webinar. “We just have to stop them.” But he did point out that even the assets of the wealthy are threatened. https://ellenbrown.com/2023/10/03/the-great-taking-how-they-plan-to-own-it-all/
2/16/2024, Ellen Brown Defusing the Derivatives Time Bomb: Some Proposed Solutions
Speculating in the derivatives casino brought down international insurer AIG and investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, triggering the global financial crisis of 2008-09. AIG had to be bailed out by the taxpayers to prevent collapse of the too-big-to-fail derivative banks, and Lehman Brothers went through a messy bankruptcy that took years to resolve...
..Prof. Lynn Stout proposed stabilizing the market by returning to 20th century derivative rules. She noted that derivatives are basically wagers or bets, and that before 2000, the U.S. and U.K. regulated derivatives primarily by a common‐law rule known as the “rule against difference contracts.” ... … Under the rule against difference contracts and its sister doctrine in insurance law (the requirement of “insurable interest”), derivative contracts that couldn’t be proved to hedge an economic interest in the underlying were deemed nothing more than legally unenforceable wagers... The rule against difference contracts died in 2000, when the US embraced wholesale deregulation with the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act (CFMA).....The fix of the G20 leaders following the global financial crisis, however, was to force banks to clear over-the-counter derivatives through central counterparties (CCPs), which stand between buyer and seller and protect either party if the other blows up. By March 2020, 60% of credit default swaps and 80% of interest rate swaps were centrally cleared. The problem, as noted in a December 2023 publication by the Bank for International Settlements, is that these measures taken to protect the system can actually amplify risk...
..All this... is to allow the big international banks to run the largest derivatives casino that the world has ever seen. Why not just shut down the casino? Prof. Stout’s suggested solution is for Congress to return to the pre-2000 rule under which speculative derivative bets were not enforceable in court. That would include reversing the “superpriority” privileges in the Bankruptcy Act of 2005 and the Dodd-Frank Act.....What If the DTCC Goes Bankrupt? ...
..In a general economic depression, the exchanges themselves could go bankrupt. No provision for that is made in the Dodd-Frank Act, which purports to decree “no more bailouts.” Still, reasons Prof. Lubben, the government would undoubtedly step in to save the market from collapse. His proposed solution is for Congress to make legislative provision for nationalizing any bankrupt exchange, brokerage or Central Clearing Counterparty before it fails... Congress might agree, since under current circumstances it would not involve any major changes, wealth confiscation or new tax burdens; and it could protect their own fortunes from confiscation if the DTCC were to go bankrupt...
..Another alternative that not only could work but could fix Congress’s budget problems at the same time is to impose a 0.1% tax on all financial transactions... There are other possible solutions to customer title concerns. There is no longer a need for the archaic practice of holding all securitized assets in the street name of Cede & Co. The digitization of stocks and bonds was a reasonable and efficient step in the 1970s, but today digital cryptography has gotten so sophisticated that “smart contracts” can be attached by blockchain-like distributed ledger technology (DLT)... The states of Delaware and Wyoming have explored maintaining corporate lists of stockholders on a state-run blockchain; but predictably, the measures were opposed. The practice of holding assets in street name has proven very lucrative for the DTCC’s member brokers and banks, as it facilitates short selling and the “rehypothecation” of collateral...
..The good news is, this “great taking” can be stopped at the state level. Americans don’t need to count on a divided Congress to get the job done. Because the UCC is state law, state lawmakers can take concrete steps to restore the property rights of their constituents and protect them in the event of a financial crisis. https://ellenbrown.com/2024/02/16/defusing-the-derivatives-time-bomb-some-proposed-solutions/#more-15735 8/4/2024 Ellen Brown, How Unelected Regulators Unleashed the Derivatives Monster – and How It Might Be Tamed
Most of this casino is run through the same banks that hold our deposits for safekeeping. Derivatives are sold as “insurance” against risk, but they actually add a heavy layer of risk because the market is so interconnected that any failure can have a domino effect...
..As of Dec. 31, 2023, Goldman Sachs Bank USA, JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Citigroup’s Citibank and Bank of America held a total of $168.26 trillion in derivatives out of a total of $192.46 trillion at all U.S. banks, savings associations and trust companies. That’s four banks holding 87 percent of all derivatives at all 4,587 federally-insured institutions then in the U.S.
In June 2024, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve Board jointly released their findings on the eight U.S. megabanks’ “living wills” – their resolution or wind-down plans in the event of bankruptcy. The Fed and FDIC faulted all of the four largest derivative banks on shortcomings in how they planned to wind down their derivatives.....It was not Congress that authorized that expansive definition of permitted banking activities. It was the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), part of the “administrative deep state,” that permanent body of unelected regulators who carry on while politicians come and go...
..The OCC’s authority to regulate banks dates back to the National Bank Act of 1863, which grants national banks general authority to engage in activities necessary to carry on the “business of banking,” including “such incidental powers as shall be necessary to carry on the business of banking.” The “business of banking” is not defined in the statute.....No mention is made of derivatives trading or dealing.
The powers of banks were further limited by Congress in the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which explicitly prohibited banks from dealing in corporate equity securities, and by other statutes passed thereafter. However, the portion of the Glass-Steagall Act separating depository from investment banking was reversed in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000. Omarova writes that this allowed the OCC to articulate “an overly expansive definition of the ‘business of banking’ as financial intermediation and dealing in financial risk, in all of its forms, and … this pattern of analysis allowed the OCC to expand the range of bank-permissible activities virtually without any statutory constraint.”...
The powers of banks were further limited by Congress in the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which explicitly prohibited banks from dealing in corporate equity securities, and by other statutes passed thereafter. However, the portion of the Glass-Steagall Act separating depository from investment banking was reversed in the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000. Omarova writes that this allowed the OCC to articulate “an overly expansive definition of the ‘business of banking’ as financial intermediation and dealing in financial risk, in all of its forms, and … this pattern of analysis allowed the OCC to expand the range of bank-permissible activities virtually without any statutory constraint.”...
..Most of this derivative trading is conducted through the biggest banks. A commonly held assumption is that the real derivative risk is much smaller than the “notional amount” stated on the banks’ balance sheets, but Denning observes ... In 2008, governments had enough resources to avert total calamity. Today’s cash-strapped governments are in no position to cope with another massive bailout.
He concludes: Regulation and enforcement will only work if it is accompanied by a paradigm shift in the banking sector that changes the context in which banks operate and the way they are run, so that banks shift their goal from making money to adding value to stakeholders, particularly customers. This would require action from the legislature, the SEC, the stock market and the business schools, as well as of course the banks themselves...
..The Menand/Ricks proposal is quite detailed and includes much more than regulating derivatives, but on that specific issue they propose:
While member banks are permitted to enter into interest-rate swaps to hedge rate risk, they are not allowed to engage in derivatives dealing (intermediation or market making) or take directional bets in the derivatives markets. Derivatives dealing and speculation do not advance member banks’ monetary function. Apart from loan commitments, member banks would not be in the business of offering guarantees or other forms of insurance.
Would that mean the end of the derivatives casino? No – it would just be moved out of the banks charged with protecting our deposits... While member banks are permitted to enter into interest-rate swaps to hedge rate risk, they are not allowed to engage in derivatives dealing (intermediation or market making) or take directional bets in the derivatives markets. Derivatives dealing and speculation do not advance member banks’ monetary function. Apart from loan commitments, member banks would not be in the business of offering guarantees or other forms of insurance.
..University of Southampton business school professor Richard Werner, who has written extensively on this subject, adds that banks should be required to concentrate their lending on productive ventures that create new goods and services and avoid inflating existing assets such as housing and corporate stock.
Speculative derivatives are a form of “financialization” – money making money without producing anything. The winners just take money from the losers. Gambling is not illegal under federal law, but the chips in the casino should not be our deposits or loans made with the backing of our deposits.
The Menand/Ricks proposal is for private banks, but banks can also be made “public utilities” through direct ownership by the government. The stellar model is the Bank of North Dakota, which does not speculate in derivatives, cannot go bankrupt, makes productive loans, and has been highly successful...
..The “business of banking” can include making money for private shareholders and executives, but that business should be junior to the public interest, which would prevail when they conflict. Speculative derivatives are a form of “financialization” – money making money without producing anything. The winners just take money from the losers. Gambling is not illegal under federal law, but the chips in the casino should not be our deposits or loans made with the backing of our deposits.
The Menand/Ricks proposal is for private banks, but banks can also be made “public utilities” through direct ownership by the government. The stellar model is the Bank of North Dakota, which does not speculate in derivatives, cannot go bankrupt, makes productive loans, and has been highly successful...
Unfortunately, only Congress can change the language of the controlling statute; and Congress has been motivated historically to make major changes in the banking system only in response to a Great Depression or Great Recession that exposes the fatal flaws in the existing system. With the reversal of “Chevron deference,” however, the OCC’s rules can now be challenged in court...
..A financialized economy is not sustainable and not competitive. The emphasis should be on investment in the real economy. That is the sort of paradigm shift that is necessary if the U.S. is to survive and prosper. https://ellenbrown.com/2024/08/04/how-unelected-regulators-unleashed-the-derivatives-monster-and-how-it-might-be-tamed/
12/10/2024 Ellen Brown, How to Escape the Federal Debt Trap
..Raising taxes and trimming the budget can slow future growth of the debt, but they are unable to fix the underlying problem — a debt grown so massive that just the interest on it is crowding out expenditures on the public goods that are the primary purpose of government.
Borrowing Is Actually More Inflationary Than Printing Several financial commentators have suggested that we would be better off if the Treasury issued the money for the budget outright, debt-free... Federal securities can be posted in the repo market as collateral for an equivalent in loans, and the collateral can be “rehypothecated” (re-used) several times over, creating new money that augments the money supply just as would happen if it were issued directly... The argument for borrowing rather than printing is that the government is borrowing existing money, so it will not expand the money supply. That was true when money consisted of gold and silver coins, but it is not true today. In fact borrowing the money is now more inflationary, increasing the money supply more, than if it were just issued directly, due to the way the government borrows... Investopedia: " Because most modern economies rely on fractional reserve banking, when primary dealers purchase government debt in the form of Treasury securities, they are able to increase their reserves and expand the money supply by lending it out. This is known as the money multiplier effect. "
Thus, “the government increases cash reserves in the banking system,” and “the increase in reserves raises the money supply in the economy.” Principal and interest on the securities are paid when due, but they are paid with borrowed money. In effect, the debt is never repaid but just gets rolled over from year to year along with the interest due on it...
..U.S. Currency Should Be Issued by the U.S. Government Well over 90% of the U.S. money supply today is issued not by the government but by private banks when they make loans. As Thomas Edison argued in 1921, “It is absurd to say that our country can issue $30 million in bonds and not $30 million in currency. Both are promises to pay, but one promise fattens the usurers and the other helps the people.”
The government could avoid increasing the debt by printing the money for its budget as President Lincoln did, as U.S. Notes or “Greenbacks.”....Alternatively, the Treasury could mint some trillion dollar coins. The Constitution gives Congress the power to coin money and regulate its value, and no limit is put on the value of the coins it creates... Congress chose to impose limits on the amounts and denominations of most coins, but a special provision allowed the platinum coin to be minted in any amount for commemorative purposes... To prevent congressional overspending, a budget ceiling could be imposed – as it is now, although the terms would probably need to be revised.
Eliminating the Debt
Those maneuvers would prevent the federal debt from growing, but it still would not eliminate the trillion dollar interest tab on the existing $36 trillion debt. The only permanent solution is to eliminate the debt itself. In ancient Mesopotamia, when the king was the creditor, this was done with periodic debt jubilees — just cancel the debt... But that is not possible today because the creditors are private banks and private investors who have a contractual right to be paid, and the U.S. Constitution requires that the government pay its debts as and when due.
Another possibility is a financial transaction tax, which could replace both income and sales taxes while still generating enough to fund the government and pay off the debt... But that solution has been discussed for years without gaining traction in Congress. Those maneuvers would prevent the federal debt from growing, but it still would not eliminate the trillion dollar interest tab on the existing $36 trillion debt. The only permanent solution is to eliminate the debt itself. In ancient Mesopotamia, when the king was the creditor, this was done with periodic debt jubilees — just cancel the debt... But that is not possible today because the creditors are private banks and private investors who have a contractual right to be paid, and the U.S. Constitution requires that the government pay its debts as and when due.
Another alternative is to have the Federal Reserve buy the debt as it comes due... In 2023 approximately 31% of the outstanding debt came due for renewal. As usual, it was just rolled over into new debt. But the nearly one-third coming due in FY2025 could be bought in the open market by the Federal Reserve, which is required to return its profits to the government after deducting its costs, making the debt virtually interest-free... If a third of the outstanding debt is too much to monetize in one year to avoid inflation, this maneuver could be spread out over a number of years.
Mandating that action by an “independent” Fed would require an amendment to the Federal Reserve Act, but Congress has the power to amend it and has done so several times.....How to Avoid Hyperinflation
Alarmed economists contend that a Weimar-style hyperinflation is the inevitable outcome of government-issued money. But as Michael Hudson points out, “Every hyperinflation in history has been caused by foreign debt service collapsing the exchange rate. The problem almost always has resulted from wartime foreign currency strains, not domestic spending.” ... Issuing the money directly will not inflate prices if the funds are used to increase the domestic supply of goods and services. Supply and demand will then go up together, keeping prices stable...
..Swapping Debt for Productive Equity Alarmed economists contend that a Weimar-style hyperinflation is the inevitable outcome of government-issued money. But as Michael Hudson points out, “Every hyperinflation in history has been caused by foreign debt service collapsing the exchange rate. The problem almost always has resulted from wartime foreign currency strains, not domestic spending.” ... Issuing the money directly will not inflate prices if the funds are used to increase the domestic supply of goods and services. Supply and demand will then go up together, keeping prices stable...
Money printing is not inflationary if the money is issued for productive purposes, raising GDP in lockstep; but how can we be sure that the new money will be used productively? Today the banks and other large institutions that first receive any newly-issued money are more likely to invest it speculatively, driving up the price of existing assets (homes, stocks, etc.) without creating new goods and services...
..Lending Directly to Productive Businesses
Another possibility for using newly issued money to increase the supply of goods and services is for the Federal Reserve to make loans directly to productive businesses... Cornell Law School Professor Robert Hockett expanded on this design in an article in Forbes in March 2021:
[T]he founders of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 … designed something akin to a network of regional development finance institutions. … Each of the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks was to provide short-term funding directly or indirectly (through local banks) to developing businesses that needed it. This they did by ‘discounting’ – in effect, purchasing – commercial paper from those businesses that needed it … [I]n determining what kinds of commercial paper to discount, the Federal Reserve Act both was – and ironically remains – quite explicit about this: Fed discount lending is solely for “productive,” not “speculative” purposes...
..Except for its emergency Commercial Paper Funding Facility operated from 2020 to 2021 and from 2008 to 2010, the Fed no longer engages in the commercial loan business... Another possibility for using newly issued money to increase the supply of goods and services is for the Federal Reserve to make loans directly to productive businesses... Cornell Law School Professor Robert Hockett expanded on this design in an article in Forbes in March 2021:
[T]he founders of the Federal Reserve System in 1913 … designed something akin to a network of regional development finance institutions. … Each of the twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks was to provide short-term funding directly or indirectly (through local banks) to developing businesses that needed it. This they did by ‘discounting’ – in effect, purchasing – commercial paper from those businesses that needed it … [I]n determining what kinds of commercial paper to discount, the Federal Reserve Act both was – and ironically remains – quite explicit about this: Fed discount lending is solely for “productive,” not “speculative” purposes...
..Hockett explained that the drafters of the Federal Reserve Act, notably Carter Glass and Paul Warburg, were essentially following the Real Bills Doctrine (RBD). Previously known as the “commercial loan theory of banking,” it held that banks could create credit-money deposits on their balance sheets without triggering inflation if the money were issued against loans backed by commercial paper...
..The RBD in its crude formulation held that so long as the lending of endogenous [bank-created] credit-money was kept productive, not speculative, inflation and deflation would be not only less likely, but effectively impossible. And the experience of German banks during Germany’s late 19th century Hamiltonian ‘growth miracle,’ with which the German immigrant Warburg, himself a banker, was intimately familiar, appeared to verify this. So did Glass’s experience with agricultural lending in the American South. Prof. Hockett suggested...
..In time, we might even imagine a proliferation of public banks, patterned more or less after the highly successful Bank of North Dakota model, spreading across multiple states. These banks could then both afford nonprofit banking services to all, and assist the Fed Regional Banks in identifying appropriate recipients of Fed liquidity assistance.
The result, he said, will be “a Fed restored to its original purpose, a Fed responsive to varying local conditions in a sprawling continental republic, a Fed no longer over-involved with banks whose principal if not sole activities are in gambling on price movements in secondary and tertiary markets rather than investing in the primary markets that constitute our ‘real’ economy. It will mean, in short, something approaching a true people’s bank, not just a banks’ bank.” https://ellenbrown.com/2024/12/10/how-to-escape-the-federal-debt-trap/#more-15857
..In time, we might even imagine a proliferation of public banks, patterned more or less after the highly successful Bank of North Dakota model, spreading across multiple states. These banks could then both afford nonprofit banking services to all, and assist the Fed Regional Banks in identifying appropriate recipients of Fed liquidity assistance.
The result, he said, will be “a Fed restored to its original purpose, a Fed responsive to varying local conditions in a sprawling continental republic, a Fed no longer over-involved with banks whose principal if not sole activities are in gambling on price movements in secondary and tertiary markets rather than investing in the primary markets that constitute our ‘real’ economy. It will mean, in short, something approaching a true people’s bank, not just a banks’ bank.” https://ellenbrown.com/2024/12/10/how-to-escape-the-federal-debt-trap/#more-15857
For anyone desperate to see the Trump administration's hawkish and intensely pro-Israel element offset by bona fide America First voices in key intelligence positions, the selection of retired US Army Lt. Col. Daniel Davis to oversee the production of the President's Daily Brief seemed almost too good to be true. Alas, that has proven to be the case, as an eruption of objections and smears from Israel-supporters killed his job offer in a matter of hours. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/gabbard-nixes-choice-israel-critic-key-post-after-pro-israel-voices-object
Talks were reportedly held with Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland over the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-israel-ask-east-african-countries-resettle-expelled-palestinians
Hamas on Friday announced it is preparing the release of hostage Edan Alexander, who is an American citizen serving in the Israeli military, along with the bodies of four other dual nationals previously slain.
Alexander was manning a military post near the Gaza Strip on October 7 when the base was overrun by Hamas gunmen pouring in from Gaza. The US-designated terror group further announced it "affirms its complete readiness to initiate negotiations and reach a comprehensive agreement on the issues of the second phase while calling for the occupation (Israel) to fully implement its obligations." https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hamas-free-american-hostage-after-direct-trump-admin-intervention
Alexander was manning a military post near the Gaza Strip on October 7 when the base was overrun by Hamas gunmen pouring in from Gaza. The US-designated terror group further announced it "affirms its complete readiness to initiate negotiations and reach a comprehensive agreement on the issues of the second phase while calling for the occupation (Israel) to fully implement its obligations." https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hamas-free-american-hostage-after-direct-trump-admin-intervention
Days ago Yemen's Houthis announced they are resuming attacks on Red Sea shipping over Israel's failure to fully open humanitarian aid corridors into the Gaza Strip.
But President Trump has responded preemptively by on Saturday ordering a series of new airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The US commander-in-chief was warned he'll continuing using "overwhelming lethal force" until the Iranian-backed Houthi completely halt their attacks. https://www.zerohedge.com/military/trump-orders-new-large-scale-strikes-against-iran-backed-houthis-yemen
But President Trump has responded preemptively by on Saturday ordering a series of new airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The US commander-in-chief was warned he'll continuing using "overwhelming lethal force" until the Iranian-backed Houthi completely halt their attacks. https://www.zerohedge.com/military/trump-orders-new-large-scale-strikes-against-iran-backed-houthis-yemen
The assault comes as Yemen enforces a ban on Israeli ships entering designated zones in response to the Israeli regime's siege on Gaza. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/several-martyred--injured-in-us-uk-aggression-on-yemeni-capi
Houthis Claim Ballistic Missile Attack On USS Truman Carrier
Yemen's Health Ministry now says that 32 people, including children, died after Saturday's major US airstrikes pounded Sanaa, with President Donald Trump warning the Houthis not to attack ships passing through the Red Sea.
But on Sunday, that's precisely what the Houthis did: a Houthi military announcement claimed the group carried out "a qualitative operation" on the US aircraft carrier Harry S Truman. "Our forces targeted the Truman aircraft carrier with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone," a spokesman said...
But on Sunday, that's precisely what the Houthis did: a Houthi military announcement claimed the group carried out "a qualitative operation" on the US aircraft carrier Harry S Truman. "Our forces targeted the Truman aircraft carrier with 18 ballistic and cruise missiles and a drone," a spokesman said...
..A subsequent Fox report said that US warships shot down any inbound Houthi drones, and that they were not a serious threat.
Saturday's strike on Yemen not only resulted in civilian deaths, but a reported over 100 injured. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/houthis-claim-ballistic-missile-attack-uss-truman-carrier
UNRWA opens 130 temporary learning centers in Gaza for 47,000 children https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250315-unrwa-opens-130-temporary-learning-centers-in-gaza-for-47000-children/
Palestinian Civil Defense teams recover 61 bodies from Shifa Hospital yard in Gaza https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/palestinian-civil-defense-teams-recover-61-bodies-from-shifa-hospital-yard-in-gaza/3510623
Thousands of Syrian Alawites sheltering at Russian base one week after state massacres
Syrian government-linked armed groups have carried out 54 massacres since 6 March, killing at least 1,476 Alawite civilians in the country's coastal areas https://thecradle.co/articles/thousands-of-syrian-alawites-sheltering-at-russian-base-one-week-after-state-massacres
Trump Reacts to Biden Autopen Controversy: ‘Who Was Signing All This Stuff?’ https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/03/13/washington-reacts-biden-autopen-controversy-signing/
Voice Of America Journalists Placed On Leave After Trump Dismantles 8 Federal Agencies https://www.zerohedge.com/political/voice-america-journalists-placed-leave-after-trump-dismantles-8-federal-agencies
Slovak Government Official Claims DNA in Vaccines Turns People into "GMOs," Sparks Global Outrage
In a bombshell press conference on March 11, 2025, Dr. Peter Kotlár, a Slovak physician, government commissioner, and MP, dropped a jaw-dropping claim: all 34 analyzed Pfizer and Moderna vaccine batches contain dangerously high levels of DNA, potentially transforming recipients into "genetically modified organisms."... Saturday's strike on Yemen not only resulted in civilian deaths, but a reported over 100 injured. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/houthis-claim-ballistic-missile-attack-uss-truman-carrier
Syrian government-linked armed groups have carried out 54 massacres since 6 March, killing at least 1,476 Alawite civilians in the country's coastal areas https://thecradle.co/articles/thousands-of-syrian-alawites-sheltering-at-russian-base-one-week-after-state-massacres
..Kotlár didn’t mince words, revealing he’s already looped in heavy hitters like U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who confirmed receipt of his findings. "Furthermore, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation… and Pamela Bondi, the U.S. Attorney General, were also informed," he said, signaling this isn’t just a Slovak issue—it’s a global wake-up call. With Kennedy settling down on his new role as HHS Secretary, you can bet the popcorn’s popping as this dam threatens to burst.
The meat of his claim? "In every single vial, there is an extremely high amount of DNA… stable compared to mRNA, can integrate into human DNA," Kotlár asserted. Echoing my earlier report’s warning—"Theoretically, DNA fragments can integrate into the host genome, increasing the risk of genetic mutations"—he ups the ante, alleging this could lead to cancer or cell death. https://www.aussie17.com/p/breaking-news-slovak-government-official
The meat of his claim? "In every single vial, there is an extremely high amount of DNA… stable compared to mRNA, can integrate into human DNA," Kotlár asserted. Echoing my earlier report’s warning—"Theoretically, DNA fragments can integrate into the host genome, increasing the risk of genetic mutations"—he ups the ante, alleging this could lead to cancer or cell death. https://www.aussie17.com/p/breaking-news-slovak-government-official
Trump administration officials asked the CDC to perform the study, according to The Washington Post. The revelation came days after President Donald Trump, in an address to Congress, referred to the rising rate of autism in the U.S. Trump cited CDC data showing that 1 in 36 U.S. children have autism. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/cdc-study-possible-link-vaccines-autism/
Withdrawing David Weldon’s CDC nomination deepens vaccine scepticism and raises concerns over political gatekeeping. https://blog.maryannedemasi.com/p/the-fallout-from-david-weldons-withdrawn
(I'll never get another one, myself.) FDA Issues Flu Vaccine Recommendations After Canceling Routine Meeting With Advisers
Instead, the FDA held a closed session with experts from its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, along with officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Defense, to review U.S. and global surveillance data on currently circulating flu viruses.
That interagency meeting was held on the same day that the VRBPAC was originally scheduled to meet. In a statement, the FDA said it does not expect any impact on the timing or availability of vaccines for the public. https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/fda-issues-flu-vaccine-recommendations-after-canceling-routine-meeting-advisers
That interagency meeting was held on the same day that the VRBPAC was originally scheduled to meet. In a statement, the FDA said it does not expect any impact on the timing or availability of vaccines for the public. https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/fda-issues-flu-vaccine-recommendations-after-canceling-routine-meeting-advisers
The void ate Steve Kirsch's homework: Lessons learned paper: "6 dead for every person that MIGHT have been saved by the COVID vaccine"
I was a co-author of this paper, but thanks to corrupt medical journals such as Cureus, the paper is impossible to find anymore, despite passing 10 peer-reviewers! https://kirschsubstack.com/p/lessons-learned-paper-6-dead-for Meryl Nass MD, While the US frets and moans about measles, Europe had OVER 100 TIMES as many cases per capita last year. Did you hear anything about it? The media sure knows how to spin people up. Why do they refuse to put anything in context? https://merylnass.substack.com/p/while-the-us-frets-and-moans-about
Meryl Nass MD, Hepatitis B vaccine at birth: Why we desperately need someone like Dr. Weldon to clean up CDC's immunization division
Hep B is a horrible program in which 3 million US babies/yr receive a dangerous vaccine at birth to protect 16 babies who could be individually selected and vaccinated appropriately https://merylnass.substack.com/p/hepatitis-b-vaccine-at-birth-why Dr. Paul Alexander: AI generated CRUDE back of the envelope analysis of risk of childhood vaccines looking at adverse effect risk from childhood vaccines (all) versus if unvaccinated & results skews to NO vaccine! BUT...
Every child who gets the recommended 43 shots is guaranteed exposure to possible side effects. But an unvaccinated kid? They’re not catching most of these diseases—measles reportedly hit just 271 kids in 2024, and polio’s been zero wild cases since 1979 (the last U.S. cases were from the old oral vaccine itself, not the disease). https://palexander.substack.com/p/ai-generated-crude-back-of-the-envelope
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday directed the FDA to take steps to eliminate the “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, loophole that allows the use of food ingredients based on food companies’ own assurances that the ingredients are safe, with no safety assessment by the FDA. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/kennedy-fda-loophole-allows-unsafe-ingredients-food/
(He doesn't know it's bad.) Oils Rich in Linoleic Acid By Dr Tomislav Meštrović, MD, PhD https://www.news-medical.net/health/Oils-Rich-in-Linoleic-Acid.aspx#:~:text
| Name | % Linoleic acid† |
|---|---|
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These are not good wavelengths for human cells. The 5G Safety Myth: Assumed Safe, Not Proven Safe
Despite insufficient safety data and growing evidence of biological effects, 5G and other wireless technologies are being deployed unchecked, prioritizing corporate interests over public health. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/the-5g-safety-myth-assumed-safe-not Who gets to join? Who/what has "rights"? Who decides? U.S. Transhumanist Party and The Transhumanist Bill of Rights - Ties To Club Of Rome One World Order And Silicon Valley Technocrats https://anamihalceamdphd.substack.com/p/us-transhumanist-party-and-the-transhumanist
Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/10/microplastics-hinder-plant-photosynthesis-study-finds-threatening-millions-with-starvation
Level Headed (pictured with spring garden planted in Yoakum)
