This is somewhat of a predictably tragic outcome all things considered. I remember a previous conversation on these pages when GM moved massive investment into China to build their mid-size SUV brand, Encore.

Continuing the U.S. decline of the brand, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that approximately half of all Buick dealership in the U.S. have opted to take a buyout from GM, as opposed to spending millions in retooling, restructuring and retraining their staff to accommodate the EV influx.

Most of the EV’s shoved onto the dealer lots sit idle without customers to purchase them.

Wall Street Journal – General Motors (GM) has bought out about half of its 2,000 Buick dealers nationwide, based on their decision to not sell electric vehicles, according to a company spokesman Wednesday.

Dealers who are taking the buyout would give up the Buick franchise and no longer sell the brand, he said. The dealer can continue to sell other GM models, such as Chevrolet or GMC, that often account for a higher percentage of sales.

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Western media will never say it, but what exactly do you think Russia is doing in Africa?  Think strategically.

The headline simply says Finland will close Russian border to stop asylum seekers. Most readers stop there, thinking Russians are trying to escape the horrible Putin.  However, the reality is something entirely different.

…”Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.”…

Finland joined NATO and suddenly Finland doesn’t want brown people.  Apparently, diversity is no longer a strength.

HELSINKI, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt the unusually large flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, which the government and its allies say is an orchestrated move by Moscow.

Finland last week shut all but one of its border posts to travellers from Russia, keeping open only the northernmost crossing located in the Arctic. But this too would now close, the government said on Tuesday.

Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.

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Joe Biden took gaslighting to an entirely new dimension today during remarks to brag about the recovery of U.S. supply chains during his administration tenure.

As incredible as it sounds, Joe Biden actually claimed Thanksgiving food prices were the fourth lowest in history despite the astronomical prices we pay at the grocery store.  This is economic gaslighting in the extreme as the inflationary data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics proves.

First, here is the claim by Joe Biden:

See below for a chart of food and energy price increases since Biden took office. 

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When I say the cleaving is becoming tenuous, do not take that expression to indicate the Western global alliance will back down, they will not.  However, as the fracturing of the global economic systems cleave into two very distinct formations, the citizens forced to live in the Western control system are going to experience a secondary position of life that will be entirely new.  Within that dynamic, the political leaders are increasingly isolated; that’s the real ‘non-pretending’ story as expressed.

We have followed this modern construct around the issue of energy production for quite a while.  More recently, those who control the systems have become more desperate because the consequences have become far more visible.

In the big picture the world is separating, cleaving into two polar economic regions based on energy use.  The yellow team, following the WEF climate change agenda and deploying all economic tools to shift wealth and control populations; the carbon tax is at the end of this rainbow.  The grey team are continuing to exploit traditional oil, coal and gas development and provide cheap and abundant energy products; economic prosperity is at the end of this managed transition.

Now, we are entering a phase of extreme consequence.  This is the inflection point when the Western Alliance is most vulnerable, because the people affected by the design are not happy with the outcomes so far.  The BRICS+ and traditional energy development nations are gaining geopolitical influence.  Can the Western Alliance keep their citizens complacent?  That’s the question.

LONDON — World leaders will touch down in Dubai next week for a climate change conference they’re billing yet again as the final off-ramp before catastrophe. But war, money squabbles and political headaches back home are already crowding the fate of the planet from the agenda.

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The Oil and Gas Association based 30 minutes away from Midland in Odessa, Texas, has 47,000 members nationwide, including in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Alaska.

On the same day that Ron DeSantis launched his national energy policy with a speech in Midland, Texas, the Oil and Gas Assoc endorses President Trump. 😂

(Via Daily Mail) – The Oil and Gas Workers Association is endorsing Donald Trump, snubbing Ron DeSantis on the day of his energy policy announcement to support the former president.

‘Governor DeSantis says a lot of the right things, right, but his track record isn’t there,’ Oil and Gas Workers Association President Matt Coday told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

He cited Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, his decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal, and the former president’s work to save American oil and gas jobs as the reason for the endorsement.

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With the BRICS alliance expanding, seven members of the previously existing G20 trade group are now members of the BRICS group.  The influence of the G20 is diminishing and the BRICS group is gaining strength.  This is the context for the modern era geopolitical dynamic that is taking place.

The G20 is ideologically anchored by the U.S. and EU as part of the western alliance.  However, the BRICS group have started to cleave away from the “western worldview” specifically on the issue of energy development.  We have talked about this dynamic quite a bit.

As a result of the increased influence of the BRICS group, specifically as an outcome of the U.S, EU and Australian weakening as a result of fundamentally changing their energy use at the altar of climate change, the western alliance is losing economic strength, and the BRICS team are gaining strength.  The addition of Saudi Arabia to the BRICS team has boosted the BRICS control of traditional energy products.

The global shift in power is happening very fast as the climate change agenda is pushed by the U.S, EU and Canada.  Issues that impact the G20 are no longer unilaterally controlled by a singular worldview.  Now inside the G20 there are competing interests as a global realignment takes shape.

Within this dynamic, the attendees of the G20 summit were unable to construct a joint declaration that condemns Russia’s activity in Ukraine.  Instead, the group had to modify their language to get all of the G20 nations, including Russia, to agree to the statement.   China, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Argentina are in alignment with the worldview of Russia.  Although the Russia allies dislike the hostilities, there is a general understanding that Russia was being threatened by the U.S. pushing NATO expansion.  Actions have consequences, and the leadership of the BRICS+ group align sympathetically with the justification that Russia presented.

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24 hours before Joe Biden announced he was cancelling all previously issued oil and gas leases in Alaska’s ANWR region, Saudi Arabia and Russia announced oil production limits would continue.  Oil prices spiked near $100/bbl and then Joe Biden amplifies the problem by cancelling previously sold oil and gas leases.

There’s no other way to look at the timing here, other than to accept this is Joe Biden intentionally driving up the cost of domestic energy in the U.S. and creating as much pain as possible.

(Reuters) – Sept 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday said it would cancel oil and gas leases in a federal wildlife refuge that were bought by an Alaska state development agency in the final days of former President Donald Trump’s term.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has pledged to protect the 19.6 million-acre (7.9 million-hectare) Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for polar bears and caribou.

“As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages,” he said in a statement.

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Oil prices shot passed $90/bbl today after Saudi Arabia and then Russia announced a continuance of production cuts through the end of this year.

The BRICS alliance is going to deliver some pain to the Western alliance.  Those people living in the yellow zone, with leadership chasing climate change and Green New Deal policies, are going to see more durable inflation as the cost of oil is attached to just about every product and service.

Gasoline, energy products, petroleum products, home heating oil, groceries, everything will cost more as the geopolitical battle continues; but we are supposed to pretend we are unaware of the global political dynamic.

(Zero Hedge) – […] Just after 9am ET, Saudi Arabia said it would extend the voluntary cut of 1 million b/d of for another 3 months, from October until the end of December, well beyond the expectation of just 1 more month. Saudi press agency SPA notes that the voluntary cut decision will be reviewed monthly to consider deepening the cut or increasing production.

The extension of cuts is meant to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEC countries with the aim of supporting the stability of the oil market. The Saudi announcement came a shock to market as 20 of 25 traders and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg last week had predicted the additional cutback would be continued for just one additional month.

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The original BRICS economic alliance between Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has expanded today.  During the summit held in South Africa, the group which is home to about 40% of the world’s population and a quarter of global gross domestic product, voted to accept the applications of Iran, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ethiopia.

What we see forming now is further evidence of the great energy cleaving.  As most western nations chase the World Economic Forum’s priority around ‘climate change’, the BRICS alliance hedges for more traditional energy sources (oil, natural gas, coal).  China will benefit the most as the Western industrial economies will not be able to compete in a global market using windmills and solar panels.

The western alliance (yellow) will be chasing climate change energy policy to power their economies.  The rest of the world (grey) will be using traditional and more efficient energy development.  The global cleaving around energy use would be complete.

This is not some grand conspiracy, ‘out there‘ deep geopolitical possibility, or foreboding likelihood as an outcome of short-sighted western emotion.  No, this is just a predictable outcome from western created events that pushed specific countries to a natural conclusion based on their best interests.

(New York Times) […] On Thursday, the bloc revealed its decision, adding six new countries, including the staunchly anti-Western Iran, in an apparent victory for Beijing.

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I wouldn’t normally write a post like this, but WE ARE NOT going to find this level of ground reporting anywhere in U.S. media.   As you might be aware, I have been doing extensive research on the Russian economy specifically with the outcome of western sanctions.

In his video a Youtuber I follow visited a local supermarket, similar to a WalMart Super Center to share information for his USA followers.

Dima Dear, a remarkably nice young man, lives in St Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad), and he shares various experiences with his audience at their request.  There is a lot of U.S interest as people following his story are starting to realize life in Russia is not what western media portray.

If you are familiar with USA grocery prices, what Dima shares in this ground report is stunning from a U.S. perspective.  If you watch this livestream, keep in mind that 100 rubles equals $1.00.  350 rubles is $3.50.  Additionally for weighted products 1kg equals 2.2 lbs.   So generally speaking, if something is 100 rubles/kg it is $1 for two pounds.

Example from the video:

•Lean ground beef at 329 rubles/kg is less than $1.65/lb.
•Bacon at 250 rubles/kg is less than $1.25/lb.
•20 eggs are 139 rubles or $1.39.
•Boneless skinless chicken breast $4 for 4lbs.
•Typical Bagged salad mixes .79¢ each. etc.

The wild part is that in Russia they are getting worried these prices are too high.  👀

The average rent for a nicely furnished 2-bedroom modern apartment in St Pete Russia is around $500/month.  Something akin to downtown Manhattan. Including rent, utilities, food, transportation, personal items and purchases, a Russian citizen can live very comfortably, remarkably comfortably, on an income of around $1,200 to $1,500/month.  In downtown St Pete which is considered a more expensive place to live.

Put that into a USA middle-class perspective and evaluate the impact of western sanctions against the average Russian cost of living.

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