While no media have a good track record of outlining the conflict in Ukraine, retired Col. Douglas Macgregor has the most consistent perspective that reconciles what little factual information is visible with the reality on the ground.

In this recent interview, Macgregor notes the Russian operation is currently focused on securing the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, where fighting has been taking place since 2014.  During an earlier interview on CNN, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy noted the largest and most experienced elements of the Ukrainian army are located in this region.  According to Zelenskyy, approximately 44,000 Ukrainian troops are there; oddly, Zelenskyy seemed to concede that he has no control over what’s happening there.

During this segment, Macgregor notes the current Russian objective is to encircle those eastern Ukraine forces, cut them off from western supply lines, and then slowly and methodically eliminate them – while separating them from Russian speaking citizens in the region.  Macgregor notes a particular concern once those Ukraine forces are eliminated.  WATCH: 

What Col. Macgregor states toward the end rings very true to the practical events being discussed.

The most dangerous time will be when the Russians are close to achieving their objective in Eastern Ukraine, and the western media will be faced with having to reconcile the difference between the propaganda they have been selling to western citizens and the actual truth on the ground.  That’s when the western alliance is likely to do something drastic.

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Earlier today, 22-year-old Jewayne Price was arrested in connection with yesterday’s mass shooting at a busy mall in Columbia, South Carolina. Jewayne Price is accused of shooting nine people leaving 14 people at the mall injured. The victims are ages 15 to 73.

Price was arrested after he was originally questioned as one of three gang related suspects identified as persons of interest in Saturday’s shooting at Columbiana Centre, a busy shopping mall in the state’s capital. A few hours after his arrest, Jewayne Price was released on 25,000 bail.

SOUTH CAROLINA – The suspect in a South Carolina mall shooting in which nine people were wounded has been released under house arrest and ordered to wear an ankle monitor after a judge set a $25,000 surety bond.

The suspect, Jewayne Price, is also barred from contacting any of the victims, Columbia police said on Twitter. Price will be allowed to travel from his home to work while he is under house arrest.  Neither Price nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment. (read more)

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This Sunday segment from CBS’s Margaret Brennan allows us to watch narrative engineering in real time.  During a segment outlining the reasons behind the major economic issues American’s are feeling, CBS notes everything except the reason the economy is struggling.  It really is quite a remarkable example of professional gaslighting.

Watch the segment, note the inflation crisis has been underway for more than 18 months, and notice how many justifications are made-up illusions. (1) A Texas-Mexico cargo checkpoint issue that started less than a week ago; (2) Trucker shortages; (3) Ukraine-Russia which started only 6 weeks ago; and (4) Pandemic lockdowns, now causing an excess in demand.  None of these issues are even close to the source of the issue.

The two major drivers of inflation are both Biden policy issues.  (1) Extreme federal government spending and the Fed purchasing debt. (2) The shutting down of U.S. energy development (pipelines closed or blocked, oil leases cancelled, permits pulled and refinery permits cancelled).  All of this is Joe Biden policy.

On the restaurant pricing side, and likely restaurants soon to close, I would note the CTH outline from a few days ago:

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The metaphorical Jack had a great idea, open a coffee shop where the beverages were free and use internal advertising as the income subsidy to operate the business.  Crowds came for the free coffee, comfy couches, fellowship, conversation and enjoyment.

It didn’t matter where Jack got the coffee, how he paid for it, or didn’t, or what product advertising the customers would be exposed to while there.  Few people thought about such things.  Curiously, it didn’t matter what size the crowd was; in the backroom of Jack’s Coffee Shop they were able to generate massive amounts of never-ending free coffee at extreme scales.

Over time, using the justification of parking lot capacity and township regulations, not everyone would be able to park and enter.  Guards were placed at the entrance to pre-screen customers. A debate began.

Alternative coffee shops opened around town.  It was entirely possible to duplicate Jacks Coffee Shop, yet no one could duplicate the business model for the free coffee.  Indeed, there was something very unique about Jack’s Coffee Shop.  Thus, some underlying suspicions were raised:

The only way Twitter, with 217 million users, could exist as a viable platform is if they had access to tech systems of incredible scale and performance, and those systems were essentially free or very cheap.  The only entity that could possibly provide that level of capacity and scale is the United States Government – combined with a bottomless bank account.  A public-private partnership.

If my hunch is correct, Elon Musk is poised to expose the well-kept secret that most social media platforms are operating on U.S. government tech infrastructure and indirect subsidy.  Let that sink in.

The U.S. technology system, the assembled massive system of connected databases and server networks, is the operating infrastructure that offsets the cost of Twitter to run their own servers and database.  The backbone of Twitter is the United States government.

FREE COFFEE:

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This is layers of odd.  As many readers are aware, the prices of fertilizer have skyrocketed as supplies have been heavily impacted by increased energy costs and supply chain issues.  Many people have worried if a shortage of fertilizer may impact farm yields this year.

Against this backdrop CF Industries, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of hydrogen and nitrogen fertilizer, is warning its customers that Union Pacific Railway Lines is now restricting the amount of container tonnage they will permit.  [Press Release Here]

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), a leading global manufacturer of hydrogen and nitrogen products, today informed customers it serves by Union Pacific rail lines that railroad-mandated shipping reductions would result in nitrogen fertilizer shipment delays during the spring application season and that it would be unable to accept new rail sales involving Union Pacific for the foreseeable future. The Company understands that it is one of only 30 companies to face these restrictions.

CF Industries ships to customers via Union Pacific rail lines primarily from its Donaldsonville Complex in Louisiana and its Port Neal Complex in Iowa. The rail lines serve key agricultural areas such as Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and California.

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The U.S. Census Bureau {LINK} reports the March retail sales data {pdf LINK} showing a contraction in sales overall (excluding gasoline) and a massive contraction in on-line sales.  As we expected, we are seeing the continued demand side contraction for non-essential purchases.

First, when you review the data, keep in mind all of the statistics are based on dollars.  Currently the BLS calculates the rate of inflation at 8.5 percent year over year. So, when we look at retail sales figures, we must remember the items being sold cost more.  Any reported sales figures in a sector that do not exceed the inflation in that sector, indicates decline in units sold.

The top-line for March retail sales is 0.5% growth; however, the rate of inflation is 8.5%, so the amount of goods sold is substantially less than the 0.5% dollar increase would indicate.  Subtract the sales of gasoline (w/ massive price increases), and retail sales are negative (-0.3%) in March.  SEE TABLE-2

A good category to note the contraction in non-essential purchases is electronics and appliances.  Again, CORE inflation in that segment is around 6%, and yet total sales were only 3.3% higher, meaning less actual units sold.  Compared to 2021, electronics and appliance sales dropped 9.7%.

Showing how much people are pinched, gasoline prices are around 60% higher than this time last year, yet gas station sales only increased by 8.9%.  This means people are buying a lot less fuel at much higher prices.  People have shifted their transportation habits because gas costs so much.

Two more very interesting notes:

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The richest man in the world, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, made an offer to purchase the Twitter platform for a price of $41 billion.  The offer represents a value of 38% more than the current evaluation.  [SEC FILING HERE]  The offer is filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposing a full takeover for $54.20 per share in cash.

Within the filing Elon Musk states his intentions:

“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.  However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.

As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder. Twitter has extraordinary potential.  I will unlock it. (SEC LINK)

What Elon Musk appears to be doing is perhaps the biggest story that few understand.

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Against the backdrop of increased Russia-India trade {link}, and the BRICS discussions about new trade payment mechanisms to avoid being shackled to the dollar {link}, it would appear the people behind the White House operation to create/maintain conflict with Russia are scheduling a stern conversation with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

WHITE HOUSE – ” President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will meet virtually with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India on Monday, April 11 to further deepen ties between our governments, economies, and our people. President Biden and Prime Minister Modi will discuss cooperation on a range of issues.” …

“President Biden will continue our close consultations on the consequences of Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine and mitigating its destabilizing impact on global food supply and commodity markets.” (read more)

The message from the White House will likely be akin to: ‘Nice country of 1.5 billion hungry people you got there Modi.  With all this talk of global famine going around, it’d be a shame if you couldn’t feed them.’ Oh, and by the way, did you happen to catch what just rolled out in Pakistan?  Imagine that – what with common borders and such… 

For those unfamiliar, it appears the DoS/CIA were up to their old tricks again, because Pakistan was favorable to the position of China and Russia in the Ukraine conflict and would not take sides with NATO and western allied leaders.

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Appearing on ABC’s This Week to give his opinion on the current status of COVID-19, White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci warns the CDC may soon revert back to an indoor mask mandate.  This is additionally troublesome, because many people now define themselves by COVID-19.

There are many people who can only identify with other like-minded people fearful of COVID.  WATCH:

There are a significant portion of the American public who worship at the altar of COVID theatrics.  For them getting booster shots, following the CDC orders and participating in the mask theatrics is a profoundly religious experience that defines who they are in the modern world of pandemic fear.

Observing the behaviors of mask promoters, is almost like watching a livestream of unstable political expression.  It truly is one of the most bizarre new realities. Many of the Branch Covidians become mentally and emotionally unstable when they experience contact with a non-mask-wearing person.

Even after all of the ‘scientific evidence’ that shows masks provide no substantive benefit or lowering of infection risk, there are a great many people who cannot fathom not wearing one for the remainder of their lives.  The psychological training from two years of massively promoted COVID fear and the drumbeat of worry, has left a large portion of the American people in a permanent state of profound instability.

It is unnerving to realize how many people can be influenced to believe in something that lacks any logic or reason.  I’m not sure how long, if ever, this tear in the social fabric will last or take to repair.  Many of these COVID consequences have divided people permanently.  The full interview is below.

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CBS has released their latest YouGov Poll [DATA HERE], again showing the top priorities of the American people are not even on the radar of the American government.  The DC beltway disconnect is stark.

Interestingly, the recent survey of Pennsylvania voters done by Reuters, turned up this almost identical priority list, only Rusia/Ukraine did not even appear in the top five.  The economy, inflation, gas prices, crime and immigration are the top five issues across the board, in almost every poll.

Russia/Ukraine is a non-existent issue. Yet, that is the actionable priority -with questionable importance for U.S. security interests- for a totally out of touch government and media to focus on.  Sending $14 billion to help Ukraine’s border fight, while our borders are crushed with illegal aliens, is a sharp stick in the eye for every American.

Unfortunately, our opinion doesn’t matter, and frustratingly, the people using Biden as a tool to achieve their goals do not have any concern whatsoever about political fallout.  Biden is a disposable tool for a program of rapid single-term advancement of the democrat-communist agenda.

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