Something odd is happening in the background of the G7 energy ministers’ announcement earlier today.

Remember that moment {HERE} when Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed really uncomfortable and weird at the presser – just 36 hours before the Trudeau administration announced they were going to drop the Emergency Act banking sanctions against the truckers? {Go Deep}

Here is an encapsulation of what’s weird, and you don’t have to be an expert in geopolitics and international trade to see it:

The G7 countries (including the U.S.) announced today they were demanding that Russia accept payment for oil and gas in euros and dollars.  This is happening at the same time NATO is demanding (via sanctions) that Russia be blocked from accepting payments in euros and dollars.

Something is weird.  Keep in mind, the same nations in the G7 are the same nations in NATO with the exception of Japan (G7 only).

The only way this conflict could make any sense, is if the G7 energy ministers realize that forcing Russia to trade in non-euros and non-dollars will structurally undermine the G7 unilateral hold of global finance and energy policy.   In essence, the G7 see the non-sanction countries, particularly India and China, lining up to replace the petro-dollar, and that not only weakens their position financially, but it also weakens their climate change position.

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Behind the headline is a qualifier that most will miss. “We will urge the companies affected not to follow Putin’s demand.”  The problem for the G7 political leaders is that most of the transactions are between private companies.  The heads of the U.S, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.K, can stake a position, but the ultimate decision around the transaction in the hands of the private company buyers.

Russia can set the terms.  Whether the G7 political leaders shout ‘breach of contract‘ is seemingly a moot point.  In the big picture, the politicians have already breached the terms of prior trade agreements with sanctions.  Russia can turn off the supply or demand payment in rubles as terms of sale.

BERLIN (AP) — The Group of Seven major economies agreed Monday to reject Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles.

German energy minister Robert Habeck told reporters that “all G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear breach of the existing contracts” for natural gas, which is used to heat homes, generate electricity and power industry.

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An enterprising journalist from Bolivia [Twitter Link] mapped the countries that support the sanctions against Russia (yellow) versus the countries that are not participating in the western sanctions against Russia (grey).  The image provides a visual reference to consider our previous discussions about the cleaving of the global economy between two overarching ideologies.

[Source Credit]

In my estimation this intentional global cleaving, using the opportunity created by the Ukraine crisis, is going to be the major story of this year.  This global splitting can be looked at in multiple ways, but the overarching story is the ramifications of two global trade relationships.

The western alliance (in the yellow above), has forced the world to reevaluate the dollar as the global trade currency, by denying Russia and their trade partners the ability to use the financial mechanisms under western control. To work around the sanctions, Russia is working on new financial systems to sell oil and farm products in non-dollar currencies.  There is also a possibility the petro-dollar, for the global trade of oil, might be dropped.

Russia is part of OPEC.  While many countries develop their own resources, OPEC sells the majority of oil the rest of the world consumes as the basis for their economic engine.  One way to look at the global cleaving is to look at the way energy is viewed.

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The 40-year deindustrialization of America, and the subsequent destruction of jobs and the U.S. middle class, did not happen accidentally. It happened as an intentional outcome of selfish multinational business interests chasing profit, combined with the willingness of congress to accept bribes -via lobbying payments- in order to facilitative corporate greed.

The only disruption in the collective economic manipulation was the forced intermission by the American middle class when Donald J. Trump was elected.

President Trump’s tariffs, countervailing duties and protectionist policies against transnational dumping of steel and aluminum into the U.S. marketplace, was a major impediment to the corporate agenda, and it quickly resulted in the biggest economic resurgence in U.S. history.

As a result, people started demanding Congress take a new approach toward Chinese transnational shipping schemes as Beijing attempted to manipulate markets and avoid the Trump-era policies.   A few in Congress assembled legislation that would prevent companies from evading tariffs by rerouting their products through another country (i.e. transnational shipping).  That legislation has triggered the multinational business groups who are now lobbying congress to remove it.

The business groups opposed to the anti-dumping legislation are the same familiar voices who decry tariffs.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation and the usual list of lobbying interests are all lining up once again to demand the U.S. remains a ‘service driven economy’, so they can continue their business models and exploit the U.S. market while profiting from cheap imported goods.

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We could all see this coming.  The Ukraine-Russia conflict creates the opportunity for the Build Back Better initiatives to get triggered.  None of this is happening organically.  All of this is opportunism based on a series of dominos purposefully triggered.  Three government solutions to rising oil prices surface simultaneously in an effort to exploit the crisis they created.

Keep in mind, this economic roadmap was strategically outlined in the World Economic Forum “Build Back Better” initiative, and that was built upon the economic ‘climate change‘ opportunity that COVID-19 created.  The U.S. version of BBB was called the Green New Deal.

First, Biden proposes to trigger a useful “Climate Change Emergency” (LINK).  Second, the International Energy Agency proposes a “Ten Point Plan” to change energy use in the modern society (LINK).  Third, comes AOC and Bernie Sanders with the “Executive Action Agenda” (LINK).

All of this is the fundamental change represented by western government in the agenda of ‘building back better’.

(IEA) In the face of the emerging global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, practical actions by governments and citizens in advanced economies and beyond can achieve significant reductions in oil demand in a matter of months, reducing the risk of a major supply crunch, according to new analysis released by the International Energy Agency today.

These efforts would reduce the price pain being felt by consumers around the world, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues, and help move oil demand towards a more sustainable pathway.

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When they say the quiet part out loud, pay attention.

…”the war may fundamentally alter the global economic and geopolitical order should energy trade shift, supply chains reconfigure, payment networks fragment, and countries rethink reserve currency holdings.”  (LINK)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a global financial mechanism located in Washington DC.  According to the U.S. Treasury Department, “The IMF is an organization of 189 member countries that works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth.”  Put in succinct terms, the IMF is the financial control mechanism for western government.

When the IMF starts saying the Ukraine conflict “may” trigger a new world order of global economic and financial systems, we should pay attention, because behind those statements is a reality that no one has mentioned yet.

Think of it this way… If Russia was to just simply withdraw from Ukraine, do you think the western financial sanctions and multinational corporations would just reverse themselves?   Of course not.  What was never mentioned in the sanction package, pushed by NATO and western alliances, was the no retreat Rubicon they created.  Removing Russia from the SWIFT financial exchange was/is irreversible; so too are the global banking sanctions triggered by political will.

What does that mean?  It means from these moments forward something else, some other form of financial transaction process, is going to be needed for Russia and their allies to engage in commerce, banking and economic activity together.  Russia, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil and other nations are now in a position of being forced to create another mechanism for trade and commerce.

The petro-dollar may factually be dropped as a part of this.  The issue is not ‘if’ it will happen, the issues are how and when they will happen.  Vladimir Putin was pushed into this position by the western financial response, and don’t think for a moment that China and Russia are unhappy about it.

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This is not good for working class Americans, not good at all.  With gas prices already jumping, oil futures have now eclipsed a 15-year high and the outlook does not look good.

(MSM) – […] West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, traded 8% higher to above $125 a barrel, the highest since July 2008. At one point the price rose to $130.50 Sunday evening before retreating.

The international benchmark, Brent crude, traded 9% higher to $128.60, also the highest price seen since 2008. Brent hit a high of $139.13 at one point overnight.

“Oil is rising on the prospect for a full embargo of Russian oil and products,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital. “Already high gasoline prices are going to keep going up in a jarring fashion. Prices in some states will be pushing $5 pretty quickly.” (read more)

What was the last gas price in your neighborhood?

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After years of anxiety within the European Union, as an outcome of a minor movement within the U.K to trigger Brexit, the multinational financial corporations in consultation with the European Commission, NATO and Central Bankers have determined it is in their interest to select a British prime minister who will void the Brexit vote.

Tomorrow at 4:00pm GMT, a new British Prime Minister will be announced.  In advance of the announcement, and representing the global alliance of financial interests, VISA and Mastercard released the following statement:

“We are compelled to act following Great Britian’s unprecedented diminishment of the European Union, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” said Al Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Visa Inc. “We regret the impact this will have on the misguided Brexit supporters, and on the colleagues, clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in the U.K.  This Brexit crisis and the ongoing threat to peace and stability in the EU, demand we respond in line with our values.”

[Now, Do We Have Your Attention?]

This post is obviously sarcasm. However, the intent is to draw attention to the precedent currently underway.  With the Visa/Mastercard action & intent against Russia in mind, are you sure you’re okay with multinational corporations choosing, approving or disapproving of national political leadership?

Below is a short list of the multinational corporations who have expressed their intent to choose who will be the President of [any country] targeted by the New World Order.

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Canada was the beta test when the government targeted the financial networks of the truckers and political opposition.  Now, the global governing system replaces Trudeau and uses the private financial industry to target Russians instead of truckers.

When I previously said to pay attention, because we are not going to like the world on the other side of a Biden, NATO, EU, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Word Economic Forum and multinational corporate victory, I was not joking.  This public-private merge of government with private financial institutions will never be reversed… ever again.

VISA Press Release –  Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced it is suspending its Russia operations.

Effective immediately, Visa will work with its clients and partners within Russia to cease all Visa transactions over the coming days. Once complete, all transactions initiated with Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and any Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside of Russia will no longer work within the Russian Federation.

“We are compelled to act following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and the unacceptable events that we have witnessed,” said Al Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of Visa Inc. “We regret the impact this will have on our valued colleagues, and on the clients, partners, merchants and cardholders we serve in Russia. This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values.” (read more)

For the life of me, I don’t understand why more people cannot see what lies at the end of this road.   The WEF crowd and the Putin/Xi crowd are both winning in this scenario.

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Again, they are blaming this on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, but the origin of the issue goes back much further.

Last year, CTH was one of a small number of people talking about the very real possibility of food shortages due to the cumulative effects from regulatory COVID mitigation and the fracturing of the food supply chain that government intervention created. {Go Deep}

What we are witnessing now is not as much attached to the Ukraine crisis, as it is the continued ripple effects in that same supply chain.

The current grain issues are an outcome of a major supply chain disruption on the manufactured and processed food side, which is now exacerbated by higher replenishment costs and lower yields. Fertilizer costs have skyrocketed due to energy cost increases.

It is a perfect storm.

Without the Ukraine crisis surfacing, the grain (wheat, corn, soybean) and supply chain issues were already going to be a problem, and many of these current mitigation efforts -wrongly being attributed to Ukraine- would have taken placed without any regional conflict.  That’s why we predicted these issues last year, long before Ukraine-Russia was in the headlines.

The thing to keep in mind is that some smart governments, especially those nations where the government controls and monitors the food industry, can see these issues long before they surface.  If CTH could see these multinational food issues last year, you know the governments of China and Russia could also see them coming.  Some might even argue they gamed out the problem and are taking advantage of it right now. {Go Deep}

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