If you are not familiar with Cass Sunstein’s wife, Samantha Power, I would suggest spending some time on any search feature of the internet.  Power is the archetype ideological traveler within the academic peer group of the Obama team.  Former U.N. Ambassador Power is the person who takes the ideological theory [example Responsibility to Protect (R2P)], and then constructs the mechanisms and network to turn theory into applicable policy.

Samantha put down the filtered Brazilian rainwater coffee this morning and gave a few interviews, that are rather telling of what is going on in the background of the Biden administration.  Discussing Ukraine {Direct Rumble Link} Power let it slip that the absence of industrial fertilizer is a good thing because in the spirit of “never letting a crisis go to waste,” the transition of food growing to more “sustainable farming” through organic fertilizer is a key transition for the bigger picture issue of Climate Change.  WATCH:

Samantha is the prototype backpack, academic, Birkenstock traveler who all model U.N. types view as the person to emulate.  She’s a sustainable algae  cake eater, who bridges the space between the Kennedy Center ballroom crowd and the cross-legged, sitting on the grass, NYU commons activists.

A very dangerous mind, with no practical skills beyond very dangerous ideological theory.

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Another item in the long list of ‘thanks Joe Biden‘ stuff.  Shortages in natural gas in windmill chasing Europe have driven up the prices significantly.  The conflict between NATO and their targeted villain in Russia is only making matters worse.

As the EU prices jump to $33/$34 per million British thermal units (BTU’s), the U.S. natural gas selling at $6 per million BTU’s is an absolute bargain.

Liquify that stuff and send it across the pond says any smart energy capitalist.

However, that comes with a problem for us.  Our supplies of natural gas are depleting quickly, our exports are now almost three times more than our production.

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) – U.S. gas prices have climbed to their highest level in more than a decade as strong demand from overseas has emptied storage and left inventories well below average for the time of year despite a mild winter.

Front-month futures for gas delivered at Henry Hub in Louisiana have risen to $6.40 per million British thermal units, the highest in real terms since 2010. Wholesale prices in the United States are still far below those prevailing in Northeast Asia ($33 per million British thermal units) and Northwest Europe ($34).

[…] U.S. LNG exports rose 13% in the three months from November to January compared with the same period a year earlier, while gas production was up by less than 5%.

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Several people have written to inquire about recent stories surrounding a wave of industrial accidents at food processing plants all over the U.S.  {Zero Hedge Article} {Twitter Questions, Suspicions} {List from Western Standard}

Indeed, there has been a significant increase in fires and explosions from furnaces, industrial fryers, boilers and some other rather odd incidents with aircraft hitting food processing.  The frequency even gathered attention from Fox News host Tucker Carlson.  WATCH:

Addressing the lesser frequent impact incidents from airplanes etc.  Keep in mind that major industrial food processing facilities are generally located around major transportation hubs – large arteries for commercial trucking and railway lines for inbound good deliveries.  These are the same zoned commercial regions where you find small regional airports.

So, let’s put those airplane ‘accidents” aside for a moment and look at the bigger picture.

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Lots of people talk about an inflation driven recession.  Essentially, that’s a total economic contraction in the value of goods and services produced, sold and purchased, due to rising prices.   However, as CTH has been pointing out for more than six months, if you subtract the federal COVID infusion money from the overall economy, we have been in a contracting demand economy for almost nine months.

A negative GDP outcome is quite possible, perhaps likely, when the first quarter GDP figures are released on the last Friday of this month.  The most recent sales and economic data shows that U.S. consumers are prioritizing spending and high priced durable good sales are negative.

Now, Fannie Mae is delivering a rather stunning shift in their economic forecast.  In addition to projecting a recession for 2023, these revised home purchase figures are remarkable:

...”We have downgraded our total home sales forecast for 2022 to a decline of 7.4 percent (previously a 4.1 percent decline) followed by a decrease of 9.7 percent in 2023 (previously a 2.7 percent decline).” (link)

That is a very significant change in home sales forecast to the negative position.

We already have serious energy inflation to contend with and low wage growth.  We already know a third inflation wave on highly consumable goods is coming this summer, likely around 30% or more in food prices at the grocery store.

The professional forecasts are always tilted toward the positive for this administration, so this new statement by Fannie Mae should be considered accordingly.  Remember, Boy Scouts motto.

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen delivered a remarkable speech today outlining “the future of the international order,” in the aftermath of the global pandemic and the current conflict in Ukraine.  Within the speech, Yellen outlines the priorities of the United States according to the current administration and the international financial mechanisms that she controls.

The speech is quite jaw-dropping when you consider the nature of her position, and the fact that she is an unelected bureaucrat within government.

As you read the speech {Transcript Here}, keep in mind she is not the President of the United States, or the commissioner of the New World Order, yet she presents herself as authorized to control the geopolitical constructs of the Biden administration.  The hubris is astounding.

Secretary Yellen: outlines the goals and objectives of the international order, predicts a concerning global famine, warns against the cleaving of financial mechanisms for international trade as an outcome of the Ukraine conflict, threatens any nation who does not support the western political alliance and outlines the need for decarbonization of the global economy.

Yellen expresses all of these powers from the position of a U.S. Treasury Secretary – the equivalent of a government financial minister.  Speech highlights with emphasis mine:

(Transcript) – […] “Russia’s horrific conduct has violated international law, including core tenets of the UN Charter—challenging countries to demonstrate where they stand with respect to the international order that has been built since World War II.  Therefore, when I speak about a changed global outlook, I’m not just talking about growth forecasts.  I’m also referring to our conception of international cooperation going forward.  

I will focus my remarks today on the significance of international cooperation in this current environment and for our future.

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The Financial Times is reporting {link here, paywall} that Finland and Sweden are likely to join the NATO alliance.  According to the reporting {also in Reuters} the application from Finland is expected in June and Sweden shortly thereafter.

Adding Sweden and Finland would be a major escalation in both the western conflict and provocations against Russia, obviously, justified by western leaders as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  However, in the big analysis, the global financial system appears to be the larger issue.

From the outset of the Russian military operation into Ukraine, it was obvious the western alliance was intent on an almost ‘all or nothing‘ confrontation with Russia. The only limits to what the alliance was willing to do was trigger a nuclear showdown through direct military action against Russia to protect the non-NATO country of Ukraine.

The NATO and western government response was a fast system of financial sanctions intended to cripple the Russian economy.  However, Russia responded to those actions with countermoves on the trade front, beginning to establish the first ever non-Euro and non-dollar-based trade system.  In essence, a financial trading system created by the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

Therefore, if we think about the current status of geopolitics and international finance, the NATO response now involves a priority of controlling and protecting the previously established financial structures of global trade.  A NATO effort to avoid the cleaving is now underway as an outcome of the sanctions against Russia.

As one person put it, “This is a fight for the dollar as reserve currency. Imagine trying to maintain our debt when nobody wants treasury notes. If BRICS succeed, US collapses as an economic power. On the other hand, if we win, Klaus Schwab’s nutty world wins.”  I tend to agree with this outlook because it parallels something we see domestically in the U.S.

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Loretta Mester, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, appears on CBS Face the Nation to discuss inflation, the economy and monetary policy.  Ms Mester is in a tough place, because she cannot admit the influence of federal monetary policy is far outmatched in the era where Joe Biden energy policy is limiting oil and gas development and creating massive inflation.

Mester does admit the supply chain crisis will extend well into 2023, but blows hopeful unicorn wishes by projecting that price inflation will temper by the end of this year.  From the perspective that 20 to 50% price increases on critical goods (housing, food, fuel, energy) are unsustainable in repeated cycles, she is correct; the rate of inflation will lower. However, that’s only because the baseline prices will have increased so high the rate of increase measure falls.  WATCH:

A $4 item that gains a $2 increase holds a 50% rate of inflation.  The next year that $6 item again has a $2 increase, but the rate of inflation drops to 33%.  The price increase is the same, but the rate of inflation drops.  That’s what is going to happen in the second half of this year.  FUBAR

The White House is doing this on purpose in order to chase their ideological dreams of sustainable energy and climate change.  Energy prices underline the entire economy, because oil and gas prices touch everything.  Insofar as they continue the war against coal, oil and gasoline, there’s nothing monetary policy can do to combat inflation.  The Fed must however, pretend not to know things.

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Last weekend, it was the Hungarian election that surfaced as the first contest between globalism -vs- nationalism in the “post-COVID” era.  This weekend, it is the election in France that will indicate how the French people feel about similar issues of the totalitarian, fascist or corporate state, i.e. “globalism.”

There are a multitude of parties and coalitions in France represented by multiple candidates.  However, if no candidate wins 50% of the total vote tomorrow, only the top two candidates will advance to the second round national election on April 24th.  Those top two candidates are likely to be current French President Emmanuel Macron (globalist wing) and Marine Le Pen (nationalist wing).

Currently Macron holds around 25% and Le Pen around 23% (individually) for the first round, with multiple candidates holding smaller percentages of the remaining vote.  Therefore, it is almost certain that Macron and Le Pen will advance to a head-to-head matchup on April 24th.  That’s when things will really become important for the larger battle of globalism v nationalism.

The two candidates have faced off before, however, this time the pandemic response by Emmanuel Macron could likely tilt the election in favor of Le Pen.

SIDEBAR – I predict we will see Barack Obama enter the French presidential election again, as an influence agent, between Monday of next week and April 24th, just as he did the last time in order to try and convince the French people to stick with Macron.  Foreign interference in national elections (think Russia interfering in U.S. elections) is a horrible thing, a terrible threat to democracy, except when the U.S. globalists need it.

When the U.S. leftists, Democrats, need to influence the Canadian election, suddenly election interference is a good thing.  When the Democrats need to influence the Mexico election, no big deal. When the U.S. leftists need to influence the French election, or Egyptian election, or Israeli election, or U.K. election, no biggie, no biggie, no biggie.  Their hypocrisy is boundless when they know the media will let them pretend not to know things.  Watch for it, I’ll bet one donut the U.S. will pull out all the stops to support Macron. I digress…back to the point of current France.

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In an effort to take advantage of the energy crisis they have created, the entirety of the Democrat political apparatus is singing in unison.  WATCH these three soundbites from today (30 seconds each):

Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said we can’t let higher gas prices be an “excuse” to produce more American energy…

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The White House occupant took to the literal stage today to gaslight the American people and state it is not his energy policy that has created massive increases in gas prices.  Instead, chief of staff Ron Klain has convinced the puppet to claim Vladimir Putin is to blame for the increase in oil costs.

The manipulative effort to distract the nation from his energy and economic policy outcomes is brazen. However, like most things recently, the blame-casting is likely to be believed by approximately 25% of Americans.

In an attempt to slow down the rising price of gasoline, the puppet on the stage-set near the white house, announced a plan to release 1 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve every day for the next six months. {Details}

As admitted, the goal is to “bridge the gap.” Unfortunately, most will not recognize exactly what the destination is on the other side of the bridge.

Inflation is a measure of price at a moment in time relative to the same time one year ago.  Ron Klain is trying to keep the tar and feathers away until the White House policy team can cycle through the inflation comparison to the fall of 2022. That’s when the comparison flips to comparing prices to the fall of 2021.

Prices skyrocketed in the last half of 2021. If Ron Klain can keep the electoral torches from reaching the White House until the fall of 2022, the rate of inflation will look better because they will be comparing this year’s high prices to last year’s high prices. The rate of change will lessen; the rate of inflation will look better.  Unfortunately, the high prices will remain – forever.

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