The same people who told us to appreciate saving $0.16 on our July 4th BBQs last summer are now taking the official position there is no massive food inflation.  [DATA HERE]

Those skyrocketing prices you think you see at the grocery store are not real.  Those announcements of forecasted price increases by the food producers, well, those are not real either.  So sayeth the United States Dept of Agriculture (USDA).

In their update to the USDA pricing forecast and analysis dated January 25, 2022, the USDA claims: “2021 retail food price inflation continued at same pace as 2020 but varied among food categories.”  Oh, but it gets even more stupid:

“USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) researchers project that prices for food-at-home, or food purchased typically from grocery stores or other food stores, will increase between 1.5 and 2.5 percent in 2022, lower than the 3.5-percent increase that occurred in both 2020 and 2021. Forecasts for all food categories for 2022 are available in ERS’s monthly Food Price Outlook data product, updated January 25, 2022.” (link)

If there was ever an argument that every single institution in the U.S. government was corrupt, manipulative and ideologically bent, this claim by the USDA would be a case study in the supportive evidence.

Apparently, if you are to follow the outlook of the USDA – and reconcile their institutional hypocrisy, Joe Biden increased the rate of food stamp assistance by 25 percent for some unknown reason.  Because according to the Dept of Agriculture, “Retail food prices increased by a mere 3.5 percent in 2021, equal to the rate in 2020.”

3.5% ?

You just cannot make this up.

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The dynamic between the Joe Biden administration and the government of Ukraine is very interesting and thoroughly corrupt. President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to avoid being the 2022 version of Libyan President Muammar Gadaffi, circa 2011.

Meanwhile, the entirety of the corrupt and manipulative Joe Biden administration, the U.S. State Department, the CIA, the Pentagon and the U.S. Congress are all saying, “Nice country you got there, it’d be a shame if something happened to it“, while simultaneously poking the Russian bear to attack.  Biden and the deepest state want them their proxy war, and they will not be denied.

Following a phone call last night where Zelensky told Biden to stop telling everyone the Russians were going to attack, a conversation the Biden administration desperately is trying to hide from the American people, Zelensky smartly calls a media press conference so the global media can see him telling Biden, in essence, to ‘chill the hell out’.

Full credit to Euronews who is being an honest broker about the dynamics at play.  This is a great encapsulation, but pay attention to the part at 02:15, of this broadcast. It is quite remarkable.

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Given the nature of how corrupt the U.S. administration is on a globalist scale; and considering that Biden Inc, which is really the Hillary Clinton foreign policy establishment, would give Zelensky the full Gaddafi treatment if it helped them gain wealth, power and influence; it really would be in Ukraine’s best interest for Zelensky to open a dialogue with Vladimir Putin.

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Earlier this evening Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Canadian Freedom Convoy spokesperson Benjamin Dichter about the motives, purposes and intents of the trucker protest. {Direct Rumble Link}

During the interview Mr. Dichter noted how the vaccination passport was yet one more step in the ability of the government to track, monitor, approve and possibly block free movement.  Additionally, the trucker gave a real-world example of that issue recently surfacing when he crossed the border and the crossing guard told him his cell phone location data and his vaccinated status was already tied into the border checkpoint system.

Mr. Dichter was surprised at how quickly the vaccination passport tracking system was triggered and noted the U.S. border checkpoints likely contain the same type of privacy infringements.  WATCH:

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Last year, when CTH discussed the original Kraft-Heinz wholesale notification for January 2022, we warned it was only the first round.  The reason for waves of price increases is specifically, because each of the processed food categories is impacted differently depending on the amount of processing involved.  Each category is different.

This understanding is why we warned everyone in October of last year to make as much preparation as possible for waves of food inflation.  The original notification for contracted terms in 30, 60 and 90 days was +20%.  Meaning this month, on those group and sectors, prices to retailers went up by 20%, and you are seeing that in the supermarket now.

For the next wave, Kraft-Heinz is telling wholesalers the fulfillment shipments arriving in March will be up to +30% on the next categories.  Oscar Mayer proteins will be the biggest increase at the top end (+30%), Maxwell House coffee on the lower end (+5-10%) and the juice and drink category around +20%.  [A $5 beverage pack will cost $6 in a few short weeks.]

The processing sector is still dealing with cumulative cost increases.  The fulfillment terms are still catching up with the increased costs.  These announcements are ON TOP OF the current price increases we are feeling.  We are entering hyper-inflation.

If you look at the notification timing from Kraft foods, January 24th, you will see the categories we predicted to come next are the exact categories being outlined in this wave.

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As the Canadian ‘Freedom Convoy’ of truckers pushing back against COVID mandates, forced vaccinations and government regulations gets closer to Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces he will be isolating at home after exposure to the COVID ‘Protest Avoidance‘ variant.

Trudeau admits he has not tested positive, but thinks it is prudent to stay home just in case.

The fundraiser for the Freedom Convoy now exceeds $6.3 million dollars and still climbing.  It is estimated that somewhere north of 50,000 vehicles are participating in the convoy.  The Canadian government is very concerned about the political ramifications.

Canada-Unity Site Here ~ Rebel News Site Here ~ Facebook Group Here

(Via Global News) – […] Truckers and supportive protesters are heading to Ottawa from east and west parts of the country, as well as from southern Ontario where routes were scheduled to depart from several locations Thursday including Windsor, Sarnia, Niagara and Toronto, according to the organizers’ website.

[…]  Among the topics at-issue for demonstrators is the Canadian government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers to avoid quarantine.

Mike Fabinski, a truck driver from Barrie, Ont., said the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers means he won’t be able to work cross-border routes anymore.  “You want to be vaccinated, go ahead, your choice. I don’t want to be vaccinated, that’s my choice,” he said.

[…]  The protest also now seems to be targeting COVID-related mandates generally, beyond the one for cross-border truckers.

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We have been tracking the issue of U.S. port congestion, supply chain crises and the White House supply chain initiatives since they first surfaced last fall.  We finally have full data to review, and what we see is very disturbing.  Not only was the White House supply chain effort a fraud, but they also manipulated the port system to give a false impression of the U.S. economy.

Let’s start with the latest issue.

For several weeks, we have been trying to figure out why the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), our nation’s busiest and most valuable port, had delayed their reporting for December.

Normally they update their container statistics and port efficiency/productivity results between the 10th and 15th of the month.  However, this month the data was delayed by several weeks.

When we finally grew frustrated and asked the POLA about this ridiculous delay, they responded January 25th, saying: “Good morning. Data from one vessel has delayed final numbers. We plan on releasing numbers today or tomorrow.”

The POLA justification and timing seemed odd, and their explanation seemed fishy.  One container ship manages to delay the entire POLA result?  However, this morning after checking and seeing still no result we realized what was going on.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released the U.S. 4th Quarter GDP result (link).  The value of imported goods is a deduction to the U.S. GDP.  If the biggest port in the U.S. holds back their import cargo data, the resulting information cannot be deducted from the GDP.  Missing data gives an artificial outlook for the GDP.  Put another way, the 4th quarter GDP is inflated by the missing deduction.

From the position of the Biden administration, there is a perverse economic motive to keep all those import cargo ships from arriving.

Would the Port of Los Angeles intentionally hold back data in order to help the White House give a false and more optimistic impression of the U.S. economy?  At first blush it might seem a stretch, but then – as if on cue – a few hours after the BEA made the public release, suddenly the Port of Los Angeles released their December data.  In politics timing is never coincidental.

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A Gallup news survey [DATA HERE] indicates that eight out of ten Americans expect higher prices and continued rising inflation, as the working class can see the through the smoke and mirrors of the Biden economy.

Overall, there are multiple datapoints that show the economic quagmire that is taking place right now.  Gasoline continues to rise in price, as oil costs continue to skyrocket as an outcome of Biden energy policy.  Food store prices have only just begun to show the higher prices that are built into the replenishment process.

Newly arriving goods overall are at a much higher price that previous inventory.  The 30, 60 and 90-day terms of purchase order fulfillment are now reflecting the cumulative cost increases at every stage in the supply chain.  Inbound prices to retail are still climbing. This is an economic quagmire created by inflation that cannot be avoided.

Fuel, food, home energy and home prices overall are rising.  As a result, durable good spending has contracted.  CTH has pointed out this dynamic for almost five months; however, the actual data is difficult to extract, because the scale of government spending in 2021 has clouded all of the economic indicators.

The official government inflation statistics at 7 to 9% do not accurately reflect the real inflation being felt by consumers, which is in the 25 to 40 percent range for highly consumable products.  If you look around your local community, it is not difficult to see that working class Americans have modified all of their spending priorities to deal with the food, energy and housing inflation that cannot be avoided.

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Look carefully at this tweet from Catherine Herridge at CBS.  Notice anything?

Emphasis mine:

“#Durham filing reveals his team learned for first time, this month, the Office of the Inspector General had TWO cellphones for former FBI General Counsel who is central witness in Sussmann case, “the Government has been working diligently to review their contents.””

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has known about the Durham probe of Michael Sussmann for how long?  And specifically, the criminal case against Sussmann revolved around the central witness, the point of contact with former FBI General Counsel, Jim Baker.  Yet the OIG said nothing to John Durham about their possession of Baker’s phones until this month?

Think about what that tells us?

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The support for the Canadian trucker protest is already getting results.   As we shared previously, ‘the absence of food will change things‘, and the reason is simple, it focuses priorities.

In the bigger picture, a grassroots protest from Main Street (truckers) forces the multinationals to a position of vulnerability.  The multinationals control the politicians, so any pressure applied directly to the multinationals ends up being transmitted to their beneficiaries, the government officials.

In the modern era, the professional left has used this dynamic to pressure corporations via organized activism and leftist demands.  However, the middle class actually has more power in this type of engagement, they just don’t use it.

The Canadian trucker protest is an example of the working class using the power of their influence.  The results are immediately surfacing.

The multinational business advocacy groups in Canada are now telling the Canadian government officials to back down from their vaccination mandate against the truckers.

CANADA – Business leaders are urging Ottawa to ease vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers to relieve the congested supply chain with the United States.  

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended Monday the mandate as a necessary step to keep supply chains open, arguing that COVID-19 itself is the biggest risk to Canada’s economy.  But in separate statements the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition both urged him to back down.

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This is a very good thing.  A New York State Supreme Court has blocked the unilateral state-wide mask mandate of Governor Kathy Hochul and state Health Commissioner Basset.  The legal reasoning is very important.   NY Supreme Court Ruling HERE.

The authority of the New York governor and health commissioner, provided by the declaration of a state emergency, has expired.  With that expiration any/all mandates from the office are invalid; all requirements for public health -such as the mask mandate- MUST come from the legislative body.

According to the ruling, Judge Thomas Rademaker said that neither the governor nor the state health commissioner had the authority to enact the mandate without the state legislature, since the governor no longer has emergency powers. [full pdf here]

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