Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2024-121
News & views (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine) ...
Posted by b on April 25, 2024 at 10:47 UTC | Permalink
next page »@b, hope everything went well...glad to have you back....your blog provides a service, hmm....I don't think it can be measured by any norm. Just the aggregate of collected information alone....outstanding.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 25 2024 11:17 utc | 2
welcome back, Mr. Moon. i'm ever so glad to hear the procedure went off without a hitch. i just thought i'd but in to say, you rock!
Posted by: Evan Hawthorn | Apr 25 2024 11:19 utc | 3
Good to have you back online. Best wishes for a healthy and benign outcome.
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Apr 25 2024 11:26 utc | 4
Welcome back, you have been missed. I am glad to hear it was less serious than anticipated! Back to reading the MoA news and comments!
Posted by: Norwegian | Apr 25 2024 11:36 utc | 5
A Navy symposium on the Western Pacific began in Qingdao with the participation of representatives from 30 countries, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Alexander Moiseev.The commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Stephen Kohler, is also expected to attend. The conference comes amid tensions in the South China Sea (SCS), where the US has pledged to defend the Philippines from Chinese territorial claims.
The meeting will discuss a code of action in the event of an unintentional collision, proposed 10 years ago, but never approved.
Reaching any agreement is unlikely.
Agreements in the present time can only be achieved through war.
Favorable scenarios are not visible.With this in mind, we will prepare for the lights out. A tough week ahead.
The war continues.
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 25 2024 11:39 utc | 6
@ b
Auch von meiner Seite herzliche Genesungswünsche zu Ihnen nach Hamburg. Ich schätze Ihre wertvollen Texte sehr. In denen steckt Herzblut, das merkt man.
I wish you a speedy recovery! Your posts are well-thought, finely written and full of interesting links and sources. They provide light and orientation in a time full of darkness.
And I know how difficult it has become to find some capable doctors in Germany these days (what a ridiculous country it has become). And with the upcoming "Gesundheitsreform" (health care reform) it will only get worse. So, I hope there are still some able physicians left on the rivers Alster and Elbe.
Some 100 years ago Germany had a bunch of medicine (and other) Nobel laureates. Of course, it was not the land of milk and honey - very far from that. But now there are only warmongering neoliberals, Wokists, anti-Russians and gunsmiths left while doing real science and uttering different opinions have become very dangerous. O tempora, o mores.
Posted by: Seneschal | Apr 25 2024 11:41 utc | 7
Happy to hear it all went well. They don't keep you long in hospital these days if it all went well, so having you back is a good sign.
Posted by: laguerre | Apr 25 2024 11:44 utc | 8
Dear B,
Good to hear the operation went well. Perhaps it's best that you rest a while and take some time away from posting before plunging back into reading and analysing the news ... and the propaganda.
Best wishes for a good outcome in your follow-ups.
Posted by: Refinnejenna | Apr 25 2024 11:46 utc | 9
Phew! Glad the forum is open for new posts -
I don’t know which delusional PR Narrative to start with - let’s do the wholly insane idea that in two years in 2026 Russia will be announcing the retreat from the ukraine including the new territories which joined and Crimea- having been beaten by the natzios boots on the ground and the F16’s and without any bodybags flowing daily back to London , Paris and Berlin !
That’s the Spectator Magazine totally going gaga with dementia. Not going to link - spreading nonsense.
The only accidental truth they have in there is that VVP is still in office in 2 years - having stopped dreaming and wishing that he would be deposed by their media generated revolution of the masses. 😆
Oh - and haven’t heard yet if NuttyYahoos mumbo jumbo Zion Dancing Loons have got round to their barbaric sacrifice of a virgin young cow and burning it into ashes, so they can get all Lord of the Flies on our arses! 🤡
Pepe appears not to have retracted the incendiary claim so far.
Sunak is still insisting on sending the first plane of illegal migrants to Rwanda !
No one has explained why that country! What it is supposed to achieve?
The Brown Skins are being used to implement racist policies in the Collective Waste - they can’t quite get away with it in Germany, Italy, France and Spain and the Zionist Entity the whitest of the the whitest xenophobes of Old Europe - but the 5 Eyes has its strategy built around it!
Meanwhile India heads to the polls - let’s see if it’s dumb enough to give more rope to its fascist owned leadership or choke it back. Will the holy cow worshippers remain in the soiled bed with the cow murdering Zionazis !
Posted by: DunGroanin | Apr 25 2024 11:54 utc | 10
Here's hoping that everything went well for our host, and wishing him a speedy recovery.
Posted by: Arganthonios | Apr 25 2024 12:03 utc | 12
I remembered you in my prayers. I will light candles as you recover.
Good health, good life to you.
Posted by: anonymous | Apr 25 2024 12:28 utc | 13
Welcome back and glad the procedure went well!
Thanks for all you do, B.
Posted by: JulianJ | Apr 25 2024 12:35 utc | 14
b, so happy that you're back, and hopefully your health is ok. You contribute to humanity by running this site and developing perspectives.
Thank you.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Apr 25 2024 13:31 utc | 17
B: Delighted to hear it went well for you.
Best wishes for the future follow-ups too!
Posted by: JMF | Apr 25 2024 13:58 utc | 18
Google translate from an Iranian telegram channel. Photos referenced below can be found online.
[IMAGE 1] Published image of Airbus satellite exactly from the day after the Israeli attack.
In this image, which has some notes on it by the ISIS analytical institute, we see the empty position of the Tombstone fire control radar of the S300 system of the Isfahan base, and signs of fire extinguishing work around the radar position.
As it is known, after the events of that night, the radar and all other components have been moved and none of them are in their place.
Now, we need to talk about the Shahin system.
What is the Shahin system?
The Shahin system is a comprehensive anti-small-drone system made by the Ministry of Defense, which was developed after the events and incidents caused by the attacks of small drones in recent years, and all important centers in the country were required to install and implement its infrastructure.
This system includes micro-drone detection radar, multi-spectrum jammers, invisible fence for sheds and polymer camouflage net for sensitive defense and military equipment.
The successful performance of this system was recorded in the previous attack of suicide drones on Shahed Industries by repelling threats in the form of disruption and finally restraining them with an invisible fence on the roof of the shed, which everyone remembers.
In the case of sensitive military and radar equipment that may be attacked by small drones, instead of a fence, which is an inflexible item, a type of polymer net is used, which is stretched over the desired equipment at higher height, so that if the small drones arrive they are blocked by the net or exploded. As a result of this action, the net itself catches fire due to its polymer nature and must be replaced.
Now let's go back to the image above that was recorded by Airbus satellite on April 19, exactly a few hours after the Israeli attack.
Obviously, the place of the radar and the truck carrying it is completely empty, and no burn marks can be seen, even to the extent of leaking oil or fuel or water under the place where the truck carrying the Tombstone radar was stationed. While we see the effect of fire extinguishing in the area around it, up to the embankment itself, which was built to create height,
Clearly, if an object is set on fire or hit in its place, the effects of the burn will be greater in the location of the object itself. Especially if it is a big truck carrying a radar with wheels full of oil and gas! It is not possible for them to come and sweep the exact position of the radar and clean it like the palm of their hand, and the area around it will be left with the effect of the enemy's fire and parts like a burnt roll of a polymer net.
The place marked as a hit by a ballistic projectile does not match even the strike pattern of a 60mm mortar because the width of the truck carrying the radar, whose empty position is in the remaining image, is about four meters, and the place indicated on the scale is a circle with a radius of not even a meter!
That night, the suicide drone that reached the system's radar exploded after hitting the polymer net and caused a fire on the net.
With timely action, the fire was contained and after the net was collected, the Tombstone radar and the truck carrying it, along with all other components of the S-300 system were separated and distributed throughout the base so as not to be involved in the next wave of small drone attacks.
Of course, by the time of collecting the net of the Shahin system and transferring the Tombstone radar, the rest of the components had been transferred earlier and deployed in another place, and the Tombstone radar had remained in its place without the protection of the Shahin until the morning, so that if there was an air attack, the S-300 system can also intervene. It should be noted that these components can be deployed and operate at a distance of several kilometers from each other.
[IMAGE 2] This image was recorded by the same Airbus satellite on April 20, a full day after the attack!
As is evident, the Tombstone radar and some components like the three launcher vehicles have returned to their position, and of course the 96L6E radar and the launcher vehicle are still not in their previous position and are probably located in another part of the base.
Of course, the "possibilities" that ISIS instituted on the image still remain in place, but as it is clear, Tombstone's radar, after being in its previous position, covered exactly the same unburnt and clean area and the blackness caused by fire extinguishing the net remains around the radar position.
Of course, if a picture from the evening of April 19 is released, you will see that these components were back in their positions the evening after the attack.
Continuation of possible claims!
The New York Times claimed in a report that after the first missile hit, the self-destruction system of the other two missiles was activated so that the level of tensions does not rise!
First of all, when the target is a specific equipment of a system, it does not matter if a missile or several ballistic missiles hit it because the target is completely destroyed and pulverized!
Second, if Israel is so afraid of Iran that it does not dare to hit two or three missiles on one radar, let us believe and enjoy this event!
Thirdly, if this ballistic projectile exploded with a fuse above the target's head, then where are the effects of its explosion around the radar? If it hit the radar, then what are the broken parts of it? If it hits next to it, is the hit hole of a ballistic projectile less than a 60mm mortar and the missile strike did not even turn a screw and only caused a small fire and extinguishing of the fire?
The next point is about the nature of the projectiles under the name Rocks missile (Black Sparrow combat version), which apparently were equipped with a detachable warhead during the upgrade, but considering the distance of more than a hundred kilometers from the border of Iran in Iraq, where the boosters were found. In practice, the detachable warhead of these missiles cannot travel a distance of more than 600 km from that location to Isfahan.
Posted by: Paul | Apr 25 2024 14:07 utc | 19
Must be nice to have such a set of loving admireers that celebrate Your work.
And NOTA BENE: Your admirers an faithful reader/commentators are not in any way delluded sycophans (wha we in Scandinavia call "deluded spit-lickers and ass-kissers): Several of those who post comments each day and week seem to be very knowledgeable and discerning. Then there are the others who comment in their strange ways: I thing they should be commended for attempting to provide good comments. May they learn from Ypu, G. and from other comment-shribberners!
Posted by: Tollef Ås/秋涛乐/טלפ וש | Apr 25 2024 14:09 utc | 20
Seeing the word "Genesung" reminds me, since I am currently studying Gothic, of the Gothic cognate "ganisan," which has the same meaning "to recover, get healthy". Since the chief body of Gothic text surviving is Ulfilas's translation of the New Testament and Jesus healed a lot of people in the Gospels, " ganisan" is prominent in Gothic textbooks.
Turkish has a picturesque way of wishing someone recovers: Gechmish olsun, May it (the problem) become a part of the past.
Posted by: Lysias | Apr 25 2024 14:20 utc | 21
I was really worried that a place like this, where somewhat sane people's opinions could be heard in the crazy western world, would disappear if something happened to the bar.
It is a relief that it did not turn out to be too big a deal.
Posted by: Nokaz | Apr 25 2024 14:27 utc | 22
b, i am glad you are recovering. But, you should take contingency planning seriously and find a backup to run MOA. My suggestion is to reach out to someone like Karloff. You have achieved something rare and important by creating this website.
Posted by: Turk 152 | Apr 25 2024 14:33 utc | 23
It was the "Back in the saddle" quip that made me smile.
Welcome back b and hope the best of health for you.
You were missed.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 25 2024 14:41 utc | 24
Xinhuanet has a posting up with the title
Russian court freezes nearly 440 million USD of J.P. Morgan funds amid legal battle
the link
https://english.news.cn/20240425/b38053c8a47f447e84270b75c4f876b2/c.html
Tit for tat
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 25 2024 14:46 utc | 27
b, i am glad you are recovering. But, you should take contingency planning seriously and find a backup to run MOA. My suggestion is to reach out to someone like Karloff. You have achieved something rare and important by creating this website.
Posted by: Turk 152 | Apr 25 2024 14:33 utc | 23
______
Urgently seconded. Quite frankly, I'm continually amazed that the site (which, along with its owner, is apparently in Germany) hasn't been shut down by the BfV, and I hope there are contingency plans in place for that eventuality.
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 25 2024 14:46 utc | 28
I'm so glad your procedure went well, b -- best wished for good followups. You were missed! Welcome back!
Posted by: Typingperson | Apr 25 2024 15:10 utc | 29
Glad you are back in the saddle, b. I lurk frequently and post infrequently, but am grateful that you’ve cultivated this space. I’ve learned a lot from your insights and the lively discussions here.
Posted by: Gengar | Apr 25 2024 16:00 utc | 30
Welcome back B. Glad the procedure was less than expected. Here's to continued improvement & good health!
Posted by: Mary | Apr 25 2024 16:26 utc | 31
The Miniatur Wunderland in my current hometown Hamburg, Germany, just opened its new segment of Monaco.
There are live Formula 1 races (video) in 1:87 scale taking place in that city.
It has taken three technical geeks (plus a lot of other model builders) a total of 11 years and €5,000,000 Euro to develop and build it. (It runs on Halbach arrays and lots of computing power).
You can follow its development over the years by checking the Wunderland video channel for Gerrit's diary" and "Formula 1".
I have followed the whole project from the its very beginning. As a trained automatization engineer I was and am very impressed with the fantastic results.
The Wonderland is often full of tourists and model fans (though they limit the max number of visitors per hour). One should book cards a month in advance. Book early times, like 7:00 am; for the best experience. It will take you the better part of a day to view at least most of the exhibition.
Here is a year old video (39 min) (part 2 10 min) from a Canadian visitor explaining the place and its features.
Entry is €20 per person/visit (children less). There are also two restaurants and other visitor service facilities inside with quite moderate prices.
I'll probably refrain from again visiting until next winter when the traffic is down.
The United States is slowly creating, intentionally or not, a "dollar bloc" that is very reminiscent of the "Sterling Area" that was created in the 1930s and continued in lessened different forms into the 1960s. It was an attempt to protect the UK from competition by creating a zone in which trade would be between the UK and other "Commonwealth" nations (i.e. ex colonies and the white settler nations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand). This naturally failed as the UK economy became a lesser and lesser weight in the world economy and world trade.
The dollar bloc will include all of the US Western vassals in Europe, the UK, Japan, and the white settler colonies. Plus some others such as the Philippines and Argentina (also quite probably Mexico). We are already seeing increasing limits on imports from Russia, China and Iran and this will accelerate with a second Trump presidency (or even a Biden second presidency). The problem will be that it would cut off the dollar bloc from the most dynamic nations and areas in the globe, that of EurAsia. The US has already cut itself off from cheap Chinese EVs (even going as far as saying that Chinese plants in the US and Mexico would not receive the IRA benefits, and bullying Mexico to not support Chinese plants), and Europe from cheap Russian energy. Will the US allow a reentry of Huawei and Xiaomi phones into the US that will directly threaten both Apple and Google, after it attempted previously to destroy Huawei (Apple is rapidly losing market share to the new Huawei and Xiaomi phones in China)?
The US and the West will have built their own cordon sanitaire around themselves. Of course this will never be a full on de-linkage as the West relies on so much from China, and a full disconnect would cause extreme economic disruption and an inflation shock. We can assume intensifying pressures on Russian, Iranian and Chinese students and academics studying and working in the West, which with a Chinese academy rapidly rising in global prominence and reputation, will lead to a vast reverse brain drain that will be extremely damaging to Western technological development as well as the finances of many of its universities. They will be replaced with the second-rate Indian version (those that cannot get into the best Indian schools) as we are seeing in spades in Canada, with much of the "foreign student" sector being a massive scam. My own city unfortunately has one of these "higher education" institutions that has thrown away academic standards to bring in 10,000s of Indian students - with the "diploma equivalent of puppy mills".
There are over 1 million foreign students in Canada (compared to a population of 40 million), half of them in the single province of Ontario (popn 14 million) which simply exacerbates the housing crisis. Australia has 750,000 foreign students with a population of 26 million (and also a housing crisis). Education is Australia's fourth largest export after iron ore, coal and natural gas. The US has 290,000 Chinese foreign students (India is second with 270,000 with the next being South Korea at only 44,000), but with ten times the population of Canada.
Is Canada’s international student program broken?
With an election coming soon, the Canadian government is implementing some superficial "fixes" but that will soon be forgotten after the election as the problem benefits landlords, owners of the puppy mills and provides much cheap labour to employers. Just another way of undermining working people's ability to improve their lives. The Australian government is making it easier for foreign students to gain residency. The people of Canada and Australia have never been asked to vote on these policies of mass immigration.
Godfree Roberts captured part of this in his piece The Dollar Bloc. The West has created the previously unlikely alliance of Russia, China and Iran and is now in the process of cutting itself from the vast technological development of China and the energy resources of Russia and Iran (both of which also have strong technological bases which have been reinforced by sanctions).
The move to a dollar bloc will only hasten the decline of a West that is incapable of rebuilding itself given the avariciously extractive tendencies of its elites now fully focused on the Homeland. Instead as we see, there will be increasing authoritarianism, increasing censorship, and increasing extraction to keep the elites in the grandiosity that they have become accustomed to, and increasing economic failure and degradation. The recent police state assaults on peaceful students protests against the Zionist genocide is reminiscent of Kent State, a previous time of challenge to the US elites and their government lackeys. The "free speech" calls of the US right-wing were suddenly quashed as they fell in line to silence criticism of Israel while funding more war in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Hundreds arrested at Gaza protests on U.S. college campuses
My apologies for using a CBS clip, you will have to wade through the utter propaganda of the ongoing Zionist genocide being referred to as the "Israel Hamas War". The clip does show why the people who still watch the MSM, predominantly people over 50, still on balance support the Zionist regime in its genocide. Those under 50 do not, thankfully those over 50 are a declining population (of course there are exceptions such as myself and many on this blog!).
I cover the sad state of affairs in the US and the West in my piece USA and the West: Delusion and Destruction Before Defeat
I had MoA withdrawal symptoms. Now - I am back in saddle as well.
Posted by: fanto | Apr 25 2024 17:20 utc | 35
Posted by: b | Apr 25 2024 16:48 utc | 32
All these kind of places are great fun. Haven’t visited Hamburg but took the grandchildren to Miniworld in Rotterdam ( https://www.miniworldrotterdam.com/ENGindex.htm ) who greatly enjoyed the Scottish scene where ‘Nessie’ swims across the loch, accompanied by miniature camera flashes from the model tourist boats!
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Apr 25 2024 18:15 utc | 36
b., so glad you’re back with us, and good to know you’re doing well. Take good care.
Posted by: onceandfuture | Apr 25 2024 18:24 utc | 37
Drei Wochen war der Frosch so krank!
Jetzt raucht er wieder. Gott sei Dank!
http://www.wilhelm-busch-seiten.de/werke/bilderbogen/enten.html
Good to hear from you again. Thanks for this island of sanity.
Posted by: limpus | Apr 25 2024 19:00 utc | 38
When US Marines on Kinmen Is. get STDs, will they blame PR China?
Posted by: lester | Apr 25 2024 19:04 utc | 39
Glad to have you back b. Thank you for maintaining this forum of free speech, which has become a rare asset these days in Germany. My best wishes for your health, and take your time!
Posted by: grunzt | Apr 25 2024 19:15 utc | 40
Thank you for pulling through, and quickly.
We all suffered, a little, at least.
Best wishes.
Posted by: Not Ewe | Apr 25 2024 19:41 utc | 41
Sec. of State Blinken was visiting China , he got a cold welcome. May the seizure of the Russians assets was not very kindly perceived by the politburo... I'm not sure trying to dissuade a Chinese disinvestment by threatening new sanctions is the most peaceful way to go, nor the most functional.
Posted by: Hiro Masamune | Apr 25 2024 20:49 utc | 42
Welcome back, B, I hope everything went well, if not better than expected, obviously faster, and was hopefully not as severe as feared.
Posted by: Clueless Joe | Apr 25 2024 20:58 utc | 43
Welcome back b! I did not know how empty was my news until you were gone 🙏🏼 I hope you're ok. Sent you a well-wish on X.
Posted by: Patroklos | Apr 25 2024 21:06 utc | 44
In this episode of Max Jones & Diego Ramos' Journalists for Sale, they ask Michael Tracy about mutually reinforcing insanity from those who either loathe or worship Trump.
https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/25/michael-tracey-america-first-or-ukraine-first/
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Apr 25 2024 21:24 utc | 45
b
Am relived to read your health procedure went satisfactorily.
Thank you for this site, there’s nowhere like it on the entire World Wide Web.
Nowhere informs and subtly entertains like your whiskey bar.
Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 25 2024 21:26 utc | 46
Excellent news b and many thanks for your indefatigable hard work in keeping us informed.
Posted by: Honeyeater | Apr 25 2024 22:43 utc | 47
The "problem" that human beings have is the lack of humility to recognize our mistakes, amend them, and move on.
We are addicted to our imagined past, we anticipate our future based on those stories and we are not able to live in the present. No historical "knowledge" is going to prevent us from living in a world of fictions and narratives.
We are born full of illusions of life and we die under the rubble of a war that we do not understand: millions of souls frustrated under the stubbornness of other souls.
And, there is no easy solution, for anyone. Because if I try to explain to the man in the White House that opposing killing Palestinians is not being anti-Semitic, but rather having empathy and heart, I must live in fear of retaliation.
So should I give up?
As long as there are people with the will to oppose the imposition of some humans on others, there will be hope that humans will be free: that is, that we will have the ability to decide, externally, without bullies, and, internally, without fear.
Good to read you again, Bernard!
Be safe!
Posted by: Shita | Apr 25 2024 23:10 utc | 48
I check the African intel telegram from time to time, and this one caught my eye
definitely time to change the neo-liberal economic model which causes so much inequality throughout the world
you might also pheraps notice that a good number of those countries most in need are official/unofficial enemies or 'nations of concern' to the US and Western neo-colonial powers.
https://t.me/africaintel/9867
Over 282 million suffered acute food insecurity in 2023 - Report
Over 282 million people in 59 countries and territories suffered acute food insecurity in 2023, according to the 2024 Global Report on Food Crisis. These numbers represent a 24 million increase in comparison to the previous year.
Conflict, extreme weather events, and economic shocks are the main drivers behind acute hunger worldwide, reveals the report, authored by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC), an alliance of humanitarian and development actors launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with other partners in 2016.
The increase in the number of people facing acute food insecurity is explained by greater analysis coverage and the deteriorating acute food insecurity in some countries and territories, such as conflict hotspots like Gaza and the Sudan.
The five countries with the largest number of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity are Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, the Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia, while Palestine, South Sudan, Yemen, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Haiti have the largest share of analysed population facing high levels of hunger, according to the report.
Posted by: michaelj72 | Apr 25 2024 23:32 utc | 49
Life is a mystery: externally we struggle to make sense of what is perishable, while internally we try to remember the origin of why we are here: eternal forever.
Because, if we really are meaningless evolutionary matter, then seeking the satisfaction of desire would be the logical consequence. Human beings who think that this life is the only one they have are those who have not perceived the nature of their own existence.
Everyone knows they are going to die, but everyone fights to live. Where does the impulse come from? Of the life of your spirit.
What is your spirit? Will to Live.
That is the origin of everything: the life of your will to live in any situation. Be aware.
Blah, blah.
Posted by: Shita | Apr 26 2024 0:07 utc | 50
[email protected] will to live is this life force of any species on this planet, fairly be basic stuff, humans being no different than any other life form. As for us needing a reason to be here or a reason to get to what comes in next, that's the only thing we don't have in common with other life forms......but our irrelevance in the big picture, same as all other life forms.....we all gonna die one way or another.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 26 2024 1:14 utc | 51
[email protected] will to live is this life force of any species on this planet, fairly be basic stuff, humans being no different than any other life form. As for us needing a reason to be here or a reason to get to what comes in next, that's the only thing we don't have in common with other life forms......but our irrelevance in the big picture, same as all other life forms.....we all gonna die one way or another.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 26 2024 1:14 utc | 52
Xinhuanet has a posting up with the title
Russian court freezes nearly 440 million USD of J.P. Morgan funds amid legal battle
the link
https://english.news.cn/20240425/b38053c8a47f447e84270b75c4f876b2/c.html
Tit for tat
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 25 2024 14:46 utc | 27
That report may be incorrect.
According to RT, that is the amount held abroad they are trying to recover. The amount held in Russia was not disclosed.
https://www.rt.com/business/596568-russian-court-orders-seizure-jpmorgan-funds/
A St. Petersburg court ordered the freezing of funds owned by US banking giant JPMorgan Chase in Russia on Wednesday. The ruling was made in favor of the country’s second-largest lender VTB, which has filed a lawsuit seeking to recover $439.5 million that is blocked abroad under US-led sanctions. The dispute centers on $439.5 million in funds that VTB held in a JPMorgan account in the US, which were blocked by Washington as part of Ukraine-related sanctions in 2022.
Posted by: Walt | Apr 26 2024 3:44 utc | 53
@ Walt | Apr 26 2024 3:44 utc | 53 about the freezing of funds
The St. Petersburg court cannot order the freezing of funds in the US but they can in Russia and that is what I believe they did.
I suspect the funds are in held a Russia bank related to JPMorgan Chase similar to the VTB/JPMorgan Chase relationship in the US
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 26 2024 4:36 utc | 54
Is this overly ambitious and impractical / realistic? Is ORBAN 'Suicidal' like a Seth Rich or Castro?
Liberal world order must be destroyed – Orban
The values system dominating the West has “brought chaos,” the Hungarian prime minister believes
Western liberal hegemony has failed and must be destroyed, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated on Thursday, suggesting it could end as soon as this year.
Addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC Hungary) in Budapest, Orban criticized the existing “world order based on progressive liberal hegemony,” saying it has spawned numerous figureheads who are “not fit to be leaders,” with even “beauty pageants” knowing more about peace then they do.
He accused liberal politicians of building “hegemonic ideological control to which everyone must submit” instead of actual governing, while turning “state bodies into tools of oppression.” Such forces are a dangerous enemy whose time is coming to an end, Orban claimed.
“The progressive liberals sense the danger, the end of this era also means their end,” the prime minister argued. Their dominance could be overcome as soon as this year, Orban predicted, citing the upcoming EU Parliament and US presidential elections.
“The proponents of the old world are sitting in Brussels, and although it is not my business to interfere in American politics, I fear that they are also sitting in Washington. This is what we are doing this year. This year, we will try to drive them out,” the Hungarian prime minister said.
This year, God willing, we can end the inglorious era of the Western civilization. We can end the world order built on progressive liberal hegemony. The progressive liberal world spirit has failed. It gave the world war, chaos, unrest and destroyed economies.
The emerging world order will be based on true sovereignty, with countries driven by their actual national interests rather than a global ideology, according to Orban.
]
“Let the era of sovereignty come, let’s get back towards peace and security. Let’s make America great again, let’s make Europe great again,” he concluded.
https://www.rt.com/news/596567-orban-liberal-world-order-over/
Posted by: Lavrov's Dog | Apr 26 2024 5:07 utc | 55
We gonna die, but not to day, because we have many heart.
Posted by: shita | Apr 26 2024 5:24 utc | 56
Thanks for the post-surgery update of your 23/4 post, b. It's always wonderful when surgery goes better than expected.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 26 2024 5:50 utc | 57
Surprised no one posted this here (apologies if it was posted on another thread). Pepe Escobar has not backed down from his latest claim of Israel's attempted EMP attack against Iran. Here is the Youtube interview @43:30 with both Pepe Escobar and Larry Johnson.
Nothing new has been added in this interview. Pepe is still claiming (@49:47) his main source is from, what he call a "big" Asian source which are more organized in the region than suspected by Western nations. If it's not China and Russia (original claim) then I'm guessing India. I can't see any other Asian nation that fits the bill besides Iran. However, Pepe Escobar is still open that he's getting played. Meanwhile, Larry Johnson believes Pepe Escobar is genuinely reporting what was passed down but, he doesn't trust Pepe Escobar's source.
Posted by: Ian2 | Apr 26 2024 5:56 utc | 58
Its all about perspective I say.....below is the title of a posting at The Register
Russia, Iran pose most aggressive threat to 2024 elections, say infoseccers
the link
https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/25/mandiant_russia_and_iran_pose/
the quote
Google security crew reveal ‘the four Ds’ to be on the watch forDDoS attacks, data theft and leaks, disinformation, and deepfakes lead the way as the most likely types of attacks to be trialed during this year's elections, researchers say, all of which have the potential to impact voter outcomes.
So lets just stop there and consider the threat.
Does Russia, Iran, China or any other country other than UK and Occupied Palestine have a snowballs chance in hell of impacting whether the US gets to vote for Trump, Biden or other God Of Mammon cult choices? Once the field is narrowed to the approved puppets, who gives a shit about the horse race?
I want my predictions about the end of the shit show by early August to pan out so the US (s)election process is thrown into a fitting end to the shit show.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 26 2024 6:04 utc | 59
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box
"Chinese whispers" is a great way to end up with a load of nonsense that everyone can waste their time picking apart and gluing back together.
It becomes a "black box" with the added characteristic that the output is garbled.
That's nothing special and nothing new.
But it is also in this case how one ends up in place where there is more plausible evidence for "the Loch Ness monsters are super-gigantic eels" than there is for "Israel tried to launch a nuke EMP" :D
One can confirm the garbled output as much as one wants to but it will still be garbled output.
If anything at all actually happened it was something else and one or more persons misunderstood one or more things (or all of them!) and here we are :D
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Apr 26 2024 6:29 utc | 60
"Chinese whispers" is a great way to end up with a load of nonsense that everyone can waste their time picking apart and gluing back together...
@ Sunny Runny Burger | Apr 26 2024 6:29 utc | 60
This is a tangent, but it's a wide open thread, right? The game you mention brings to mind my recent readings in surrealism, where the poets love games like this. That righteous Martiniquan who wrote Discourse on Colonialism, Aime Cesaire, wrote the following with his surrealist wife Suzanne (& friends):
VOICE OF THE ORACLE: SURREALIST GAME, APRIL 1942
Do you want to hear the great voice of the oracle? The explosive voice of life?
Sit down around a table. Take a sheet of paper and boldly write down what it is you want to know. Fold the paper, pass it to your neighbor who will write an answer without reading the question. And so on...Q: What is night?
A: It is eternally breaking the same heart.Q: What is hating?
A: Hiding behind one's face, far away.Q: What is poetry?
A: It is the bell tolled by the sky's great wind.
[Black, Brown, & Beige: Surrealist Writings from Africa and the Diaspora]
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Apr 26 2024 7:15 utc | 61
Just wanted to send b a light-hearted greeting card well on topic, I see the bar is already open and brimming again ... as it's tangentially relevant for all, I'll post the link here:
https://persiflo.substack.com/p/ghost-of-the-corner
Posted by: persiflo | Apr 26 2024 8:24 utc | 62
Welcome back, b !!
Best wishes!
And a big THANK YOU for the countless hours You have spent reading news and analyses, and putting up with the crap and the ugliness of the world, in order to make MoA the gem that it is.
(Say, did the squirrels visit You again? It's been years since...)
Posted by: A.G. | Apr 26 2024 9:53 utc | 63
b:
“So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.“
Marcus Aurelius
Delighted to hear your medical procedure went well, b. Back in the saddle indeed. There's windmills to tilt at, our intrepid knight! A hot summer looms on the horizon, in more ways than one.
Posted by: Saturna | Apr 26 2024 10:20 utc | 65
https://t.me/warfareanalysis/33664
State department toadie refuses to denounce Netanyahu calling for usa university protests to be cracked down on. Because first amendment rights like free speech and protest of genocide are antisemetic. Toadies claims its not a call but rather just commentary. That was just weak.
Posted by: Hankster | Apr 26 2024 10:54 utc | 66
fwiw Tucker Carlson (on joe rogan) Says Politicians Are TERRIFIED Of The Intelligence Agencies! on Jimmy Dore -- core outtake at the beginning ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey8eqfzSp2k
Posted by: Lavrov's Dog | Apr 26 2024 11:07 utc | 67
Good to see you back, and may you get good feedback from the doctors. :)
Posted by: titmouse | Apr 26 2024 12:27 utc | 68
Happy that you're back and got through quick, fingers crossed the follow-ups will also be minor.
Thank you for MoA and the essential platform you provide, and all the informed discussion, I am grateful. I missed it dearly, even for just a few days.
"We never know the worth of water, till the well is dry", Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, p.237, 5451
Posted by: htyul | Apr 26 2024 13:23 utc | 69
Posted by: Ian2 | Apr 26 2024 5:56 utc | 58
Thank you, Ian2 for posting this important link here. Yes, it is the first post I believe at the Palestine thread - or rather, the link there is to karlof1's substack which then links to this conversation. Hearing rather than just seeing Pepe's announcement is enormously helpful as is the conversation itself.
Do go and listen, everyone, if you haven't already. And thanks very much, b and also karlof1. I always go to your posts, and also now to read all commentary. This is a watershed moment and you all plus Pepe and others are watershed world patriots. Time for each of us to decide which side of the mountain we prefer to be on. Our streams may flow or not, depending on the good will of others, but that latter is ever replenishing.
Posted by: juliania | Apr 26 2024 13:38 utc | 70
Here is karlof1's link and conversation concerning the post linked by Ian2 at 58:
https://karlof1.substack.com/p/update-on-pepes-nuke
Posted by: juliania | Apr 26 2024 13:43 utc | 71
UK Insurers Refuse To Pay Nord Stream Because Blasts Were ‘Government’ Backed
Posted by: Apollyon | Apr 26 2024 15:03 utc | 72
Blinken got his ass handed to him in China, with Chinese officials straight-forwardly telling him that the US needs to pick between actual real friendly relations or outright confrontation. The utter hypocrisy of a US taking extensive protectionist actions against China while telling China that it must become more market oriented is ridiculous. Then Blinken complaining about China trading with Russia, while the US just passed another huge subsidy for the Ukrainian proxy warriors, and the future Taiwanese proxy warriors, and the Zionist genociders. China is pushing back hard, no more sweet words for them from China.
Then Yellen threatening to cut China off from SWIFT, which would create the utter destruction of the dollar standard. Then the idiot Scholz also being given the disciplinary treatment. Russia is already showing the stupidity of such actions, as Russia starts to confiscate US assets to offset the theft of its reserves - a seizure of JP Morgans assets.
Good coverage from Sean Foo SHOCKING: China Warns The US “Cooperation or Confrontation” As Russia SEIZES US Bank Assets
Things are getting a lot rougher for US officials abroad, as the balance of power swings away from them and countries start to assert their sovereignty and reject the US hypocrisy.
ZH has a posting up with the title
Yuan Devaluation Fever Heats Up As China Stockpiles Metals
It is a post authored by Simon White, a Bloomberg macro strategist and I agree with the speculation.
There is going to be a new stage to the economic war called, What is your money worth?
The current relationship between nation's currencies to the US dollar is going to change as soon as there is a value based money....but I think the relationships have to break first and become fluid so as to quickly migrate to the value based relationship......I trust there is all sorts of BRICS+ stuff going on behind the scenes to develop the breadbasket value concept if not just gold to start with.
Who knows which way the winds blow but change is in the air and it smells better than the current shit show.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 26 2024 16:34 utc | 74
@Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 26 2024 16:34 utc | 74
That ZH story is classic click-baiting by hiding the lead. The actual contents of the article pretty much debunk the possibility of a Yuan devaluation. ZH used to be a good site, but it has massively degenerated as we get click-bait trash like that story's headline and right-wing nut job articles from the likes of the Falun Gong mouthpiece The Epoch Times. There are some good articles there but the ratio of chaff to actual wheat is high.
We have to keep our eye on the ball - the creatures in charge of nuclear arsenals are coming more and more unhinged every day and they are all found in western governments. The sit, folkpotpourri.com keeps publishing post-apocalyptic stories to help us remember what is at stake and what is at risk for us. https://folkpotpourri.com/and-there-were-lights-in-the-sky/
Posted by: Ozark Grandpa | Apr 26 2024 18:35 utc | 76
https://theupheaval.substack.com/p/the-rights-future-must-be-parallel
Another interesting article by an original, conservative thinker.
By now most of us are well aware of the scope of the problems we face. Our societies are controlled by a transnational class of managerial elites increasingly isolated from the people they rule, and from reality. These elites, and the many institutions they control, have been captured by a revolutionary ideology that seeks to remake the world, and everyone in it, from the top down.
The vast machinery of modern managerial technocracy has been turned against us, its bulging bureaucracies seeking to impose on us a totalizing project of internal colonization. Our systems of self-governance, the cultural fabric of our national ways of life, even our very human nature are being intentionally suppressed and replaced with the stifling conformity of a rigid system of ideological and technological control. All remaining semblances of democratic accountability are today being cast aside in favor of governance via mass manipulation and open coercion. Increasingly, any dissent is treated as a threat to the security of the state – and is punished as such.
As has been so amply demonstrated by the police outside our very doors, dispatched to shut down this conference [the conference almost had to be cancelled], for conservatives and other dissidents this state of affairs means escalating exclusion and persecution. The reality is that any “liberal neutrality” or “rule of law” once maintained by the state no longer exists – such restraint was an artifact of the old order....
What is to be done? Let me propose that today’s conservatives have failed in large part because, in addition to a simple lack of backbone, they have completely forgotten the basic foundations of building real political power. Before I return to that point, however, let me first outline four key attributes that I think any real right-wing strategy would need to possess in order to actually be successful today.
He then outlines several approaches many of which, as he points out himself, resemble typical left-style organizing, but basically boil down to creating from the bottom up a parallel society existing alongside, and relatively independent from, the status quo system.
@ Seneschal, §7:
100 years ago, my grandfather (a metallurgist in Liverpool) had to learn German - as the language of science.
Now the Germans dump nuclear power and blow up their own replacement (NordStream).
The Germans jab everyone with an experimental drug (against the Nuremberg protocols) and prosecute anyone who criticizes them, even doctors and professors who question the government´s "science".
Having eschewed war Germany, now under orders from their American occupiers, is squandering its citizens wealth pursuing a war against Russia - for the sake of neo-Nazis!
Finally, they import millions from Africa and the Near East who have little or no education, a religion which they´ve said is above German law, and are paying them benefits for which they´ve paid nothing: quite unlike the German citizen who has worked all his life to build this society up.
Germany is committing suicide.
Posted by: John Marks | Apr 26 2024 19:35 utc | 78
Are there omens to be descerned from the British Army bolting cavalry horses incident in London?
Great to read you are "back in the saddle", b! Best wishes.
Posted by: Ново З | Apr 26 2024 20:34 utc | 80
I read that in the town of Oranienburg (pop.46,000), Germany, the electricity grid is maxed out. The electricity company no longer connects new houses...
Passerby | Apr 14 2024 13:14 utc | 1
Local poor planning. They underestimated the population dynamics, and thus the local grid capacity is not sufficient for current needs. (Of course, right-wing media will spin this to suit their agenda.)
(carried over from the previous open thread)
Posted by: smuks | Apr 26 2024 20:44 utc | 81
Biden Capital Gains Proposal Of 44.6%
https://shorturl.at/biqvM
Posted by: Dogon Priest | Apr 26 2024 20:50 utc | 82
psychohistorian | Apr 26 2024 16:34 utc | 74
Roger | Apr 26 2024 17:51 utc | 75
Fully agree with what Roger wrote. Sometimes interesting info finds its way onto ZH, but mostly just right-wing fear-mongering mixed with lousy economics. The end of the world is near, so buy gold (from our sponsors)!
The currency devaluation game has been ongoing for years, most extreme case being Japan. What's interesting to watch is whether the interest spread Dollar-Euro will increase, and the consequences that'll have on exchange rates/ carry trade. US may be doomed to keep interest rates ponzi-ishly high to attract capital.
BRICS currency isn't an actual project, more of a 'plan B' threat. They could do it, theoretically - if G7 refuse to agree to IMF/WB reforms. It would wreak havoc, globally, and that's the last thing Beijing wants.
Posted by: smuks | Apr 26 2024 20:59 utc | 83
Posted by: smuks | Apr 26 2024 20:59 utc | 83Fully agree with what Roger wrote. Sometimes interesting info finds its way onto ZH, but mostly just right-wing fear-mongering mixed with lousy economics. The end of the world is near, so buy gold (from our sponsors)!
https://nypost.com/2024/04/26/us-news/george-soros-maoist-fund-columbias-anti-israel-tent-city/
True. But the ZH story today about Soros and the student protests is just a repost of a NY Post article which has a dual distinction:
1 Being the oldest newspaper in the US (https://nypost.com/2020/07/03/alexander-hamilton-founded-americas-oldest-daily-newspaper/ )
and
2 Getting the Hunter Biden story right first time despite most other sources heaping insults upon them and blanket-censoring the article to influence the 2020 election.
It's not a big deal that these protests have sponsorship from somewhere; most such things do. Of course many will instinctively deny it crying 'tinfoil hat!' or 'bigot', but what is more interesting is that IF indeed they are organized, for what purpose?
There could be more than one reason. Influencing the election is probably one of them. And it's almost May: street action time, like in 2020. And any day now there could be riots from illegals demanding jobs or the right to vote or whatever.
The NY Post is now owned by Murdoch. It can be very right-wing. Which doesn't stop it from being correct about some things, like Hunter Biden's laptop.
Posted by: Lysias | Apr 26 2024 21:55 utc | 85
...what is more interesting is that IF indeed they are organized, for what purpose?
There could be more than one reason. Influencing the election is probably one of them.
scorpion | Apr 26 2024 21:47 utc | 84
Absolutely possible. There's a lot of 'astroturf' movements these days, or real movements that are promoted/ captured by 'special interests'. My theory was (and still is) that US/UK Neocons are trying to drive Netanyahu into a corner, leaving him no other option than escalate, e.g. by attacking Iran. Promoting anti-Israel sentiment in the US could well play into that strategy. But yes, that's highly speculative.
(also nb, there's no such thing as an 'illegal' human being)
Posted by: smuks | Apr 26 2024 21:59 utc | 86
John Marks 78 above on Germany is a fine comment, both astute obseravtion and sharply worded clarity. It's hard to pack more punch into so few lines, down to the conclusion that Germany is about to commit suicide. The only thing I might add that post '45 this country has lost its sense of self, but this came about mostly through outward actors who absolutely wanted to finish this country and people for good. Whatever happens during the period of transition and, in some fairly distant future, integration into the Eurasian community is hard to predict, but it's not true that this torn centrepiece of european history will turn into an uninhabitated wasteland.Some things will get lost, among them the literature and languae tradition, probably including the 'Humboldt' university ideal that chose excellence over breadth and thus enabled a peak of scientifical effort that rivals all other that are recorded in humanity's history.
That said, I'd see a good chance that the university has one more ace up its dusty old sleeves, and that would be to first start educating muslim Imams, thus setting the stage for chance encounter between Koranic exegesis, which is plain stupid and outright illogical, and a well-developed standard practice method of "critical" reading that is aware about the problems that history brings when dealing with old texts. It's a delicate joint in koranic theology, and it will probably break as quickly as bad spells sometimes are. As a most amazing sidenote, in fact the historiographical aspect of science has already been completed by, among others, Prof. Karl-Heinz Ohlig of Uni Saarbrücken, an orientalist. He is being featured by none other than the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, essentially a state-run printing press for, uhm, educational materials of various kinds. Ohlig's thesis is so wild and, frankly, a bit upsetting that I won't go into it here, but afaik he's got the arguments on his side. Okay, I'll spoil it: He posits that the religion of Islam is state-run project by the Sassanid Persian empire. In other words, a mind control project. Not the first, and not the last at that.
Anyway. To round my little tour out by coming back to Germany's future after its suicide, there will probably me more left working well as many doomers and gloomers from all sides of the political spectrum assume; discountingof course the non-reality based community of the you-know-whos with their teddy bear ideals and brainwashed ignorance of all that really matters; or perhaps just nearly all of that, because I can see a future where the new population manages to run a society on much of what has been accomplished already before, even if the language it uses is nt even intelligible to the pre-45 epoch of German discourse and writing. They will most likely be friendly neighbors, they will be able to gather in family and other events at public parks and other urban spaces (a skill that 2,000 years of German-Italian engagement has not been able to accomplish), and they will also make great barbecues there and play live music. The very sophisticated manner in which the Lutheranians like to deal with their Thou-ness (as in being a person among other persons) is taken up by the immigrants fairly well, but this notion is as I admit, very subjective. This, and the ability to maintain basic order, will be enough to get out of the decades ahead in not too bad a shape, though probably fully devoid of the international weight of past history. Looking at a map, this development seems not all too unnatural.
Posted by: persiflo | Apr 26 2024 22:02 utc | 87
SG | Apr 26 2024 21:23 utc | 195
The problem in absolutist France was the same as in today's US/ West: extreme inequality.
Lowering yields can stabilize the system for some time, but doesn't solve the core issue.
Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Apr 26 2024 21:23 utc | 196
The collateral is productive capital - factories, land, real estate.
At low yield, the market value of profitable assets increases towards 'infinite' (inversely proportional). By extension, state or corporate bonds deemed 'secure' are also considered valid collateral. Which may become a problem if the corresponding real economy no longer produces as planned (i.e. shrinks) => devaluation of currency
(carried over from the Ukraine thread)
Posted by: smuks | Apr 26 2024 22:08 utc | 88
Jeremy Rhymings-Lang / SG @ Moved from the UKR thread
What I was saying is the game is rigged and both sides are in on it, it's not a sting where you have a con artist and a mark, debtor duping creditor, both creditor and debtor control the con, the sucker is the retail investor. If both sides are in on it and they control the central banks (regulatory capture) they can keep the scam going for a very long time. The power of the scam was shown in 2008.
Can it be brought down from outside? Maybe, but why would the Chinese and Russians want to do that? A new 1929 level crash would guarantee WW3 not scare the USA away from it. Everyone was broke in WW2 but that didn't stop them one bit. Scarcity is artificial used for control, the money is always there.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Apr 26 2024 22:26 utc | 89
Lysias | Apr 26 2024 21:55 utc | 85 "The NY Post is now owned by Murdoch. It can be very right-wing."
Murdoch is a jewish Zionist. He is neither 'right' nor 'left'. He uses whatever bus is going is way, be it the left or the right bus. Taking the goyim for a ride.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Apr 26 2024 22:32 utc | 90
Instead of taking the words of a highly partisan media, we can simply listen to the students themselves. One of the leaders of the protesting students from Columbia, who is Jewish:
Jewish Student Debunks Corporate Media Lies That Columbia Protests Are Hateful
@ Roger | Apr 26 2024 17:51 utc | 75
smuks | Apr 26 2024 20:59 utc | 83
I know all about the ZH bias and noted the author was Bloomberg but still believe that currency devaluation/revaluation is coming soon and will cause all sort of down stream interest rate gyrations/crisis and exchange rate manipulation.
I see that as the end stage of fiat and a period of currency float will force the hand of the China/Russia axis before they are entirely prepared to move to a value based money again.
Social trust is failing and I believe that the fiat valued money will be a victim of the trust bust.....but for a time there will be the US dollar camp and the ROW camp and we don't know if there will be an exchange rate of money between the two camps......and what happens to global supply chains? Do we have two separate ones?
I doubt things will get too bifurcated before necessity and "common sense" prevail over the Western God Of Mammon cult and the highly skewed top/bottom form of social organization.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 27 2024 1:43 utc | 92
ZH has a posting up with the title
Bank Failures Begin Again: Philly's Republic First Seized By FDIC
the quotes
The FDIC just seized the troubled Philadelphia bank, Republic First Bancorp and and struck an agreement for the lender’s deposits and the majority of its assets to be bought by Fulton Bank.Republic Bank had about $6 billion of assets and $4 billion of deposits at the end of January, according to the FDIC (considerably smaller than the $100-200BN assets with SVB and Signature).
The FDIC estimated the failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $667 million.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, Republic First had for months struggled to stay afloat.
Around half of its deposits were uninsured at the end of 2023, according to FDIC data.
Its total equity, or assets minus liabilities, was $96 million at the end of 2023, according to FDIC filings.
That excluded $262 million of unrealized losses on bonds that it labeled “held to maturity,” which means the losses hadn’t counted on its balance sheet.
Its stock, which was delisted from Nasdaq in August, had been near zero.
....
...the banking crisis is back and now the question is "who's next?"
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 27 2024 1:54 utc | 93
@Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 27 2024 1:43 utc | 92
There may be a bigger problem brewing with the Japanese Yen, with the Bank of Japan hemmed in by its zero interest rate policies and massive debt levels. The yen has been declining significantly and it just broke out from a 2 year consolidation pattern to the downside (2022 to 2024). Looks the the Bank of Japan has been following a benign neglect policy toward the Yen, but that could get out of hand fast.
A very significant chunk of leveraged position are funded in Yen, as the interest rates are low and the currency declining. If the BoJ was forced to raise rates that could cause a lot of problems in the global financial system. Domestically, Japan can live well with a slowly declining Yen. But when markets players understand that this is a one way bet the move can become very disorderly. That could create a lot of losers in the global financial system, with many connections that were not previously known coming to light. Very much like the US mortgage funding crisis suddenly spreading globally in 2008.
A lower Yen also helps fix the Japanese trade balance that was heavily in deficit last year. The nation's foreign positive net asset position also means that a lower Yen equals higher returns on foreign investments when denominated in Yen. The government also needs a low interest rate given its massive level of debt. But a "disorderly" crash in the Yen is a very different thing. Medium term, the ongoing destruction of the Japanese export industries by the Chinese and the accelerating population decline (in an economy with limited abilities to increase productivity, unlike a China which is still much lower on the per capita income scale) has to lead to a day of reckoning for Japan.
Is any barfly aware of a Chinese equivalent of en.kremlin.ru?
It would be interesting to learn what China.gov has to say about Blinken's recent visit, even if the language used is excessively polite/'respectful'.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Apr 27 2024 3:13 utc | 96
@ Roger | Apr 27 2024 3:04 utc | 95 with follow up about Japan Yen
What you didn't include in your comprehensive view of Japan's finances is their US Treasury holdings which I think are the highest of any nation....not faulting you.
I start to fog over when thinking about the dynamics of the financial and geopolitical aspects of Japan.
Japan is Fukushima
Japan is a WWII colony like Germany
Japan is being sacrificed by West as pawn in China/world game
Japan is the backstop to Taiwan against China as landmass in region.
Japan's economy and shrinking social system, as you describe, does put Japan as another potential domino leading or trailing the fall of other dominoes in our civilization war.
Humanity is approaching a day or so of reckoning, IMO
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 27 2024 4:20 utc | 97
I see that as the end stage of fiat and a period of currency float will force the hand of the China/Russia axis before they are entirely prepared to move to a value based money again.
Social trust is failing and I believe that the fiat valued money will be a victim of the trust bust.....but for a time there will be the US dollar camp and the ROW camp and we don't know if there will be an exchange rate of money between the two camps......and what happens to global supply chains? Do we have two separate ones?
I doubt things will get too bifurcated before necessity and "common sense" prevail over the Western God Of Mammon cult and the highly skewed top/bottom form of social organization.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 27 2024 1:43 utc | 92
Well yes, Yen & Euro are under- and Dollar is overvalued, that's an open secret.
At some point and in some way, the imbalances will be corrected - but maybe not the way we think.
"Fiat money" is efficient and flexible, supply can quickly adapt to changing needs. It's well-suited for a modern economy with (essentially) zero or negative growth, so there definitely will be no going back to pre-modern forms. Generally speaking, 'money' is simply a unit of accounting society has agreed on. It's an idea, nothing tangible - equating it with something that's in limited supply, energy intensive to get and difficult to handle doesn't make any sense, esp. in the internet age.
The only problem is that the 'global money' $ is issued by a single country - such a set-up is bound to be abused sooner or later. "Our money, but your problem" - or is it vice versa, I wonder? The overvalued Dollar is a disaster for anyone trying to manufacture in the US, and thus for wage-earners there. Only shitty service jobs that cannot be offshored remain...(that's hyperbole, I know)
So a future (global) monetary system will fix this problem, while keeping what's good & practical about the old system. The most obvious solution would be an IMF reform, converting SDR into a true global reserve currency. Which is very probably China's & BRICS' goal, though they have a plan B, of course.
@Roger #95 - "Japan's high debt" is a popular misconception. It's just their weird way of accounting - roughly half (iirc) of govt's "debt" is to itself.
What's absurd is that Japan is still chasing "growth", in an economy that's visibly saturated and a shrinking population. They'll get over it.
You write A lower Yen also helps fix the Japanese trade balance that was heavily in deficit last year. - really? Isn't the trade deficit mostly due to expensive (Dollar) energy imports? For now, Japan seems fine with the low Yen, but at some point it'll have to revalue.
The US/UK would probably like to use Japan & Taiwan as Ukraine-style pawns to start a war with China, but both Tokyo and Taipeh are too clever to fall for that. Now they're trying to goad the Philippines towards escalation.
Posted by: smuks | Apr 27 2024 7:01 utc | 98
#98 Forgot to put the first paragraphs in italics (quote), and shorten them. Sorry.
Posted by: smuks | Apr 27 2024 7:02 utc | 99
Soem comedy from George Carlin: Jammin' in New York [SUB ITA] 58 mins
On the USA shit show, War, thinking and never believing what the govt tells us.
Circa post Gulf War I early 1990s - still prescient now today!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDFUdO7AH74
RIP George you were the GOAT
Posted by: Lavrov's Dog | Apr 27 2024 7:10 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
@B
Ich hoffe, es geht Ihnen gut.
Posted by: NoName | Apr 25 2024 11:03 utc | 1