-These high-end weapons systems require US/NATO recon, targeting, and technical assistance, so “the good guys” essentially just aided firing missiles at a beach full of civilians.
-2 Distress Calls: UK Navy crew abandons one ship in the Gulf of Aden, another ship hit with a kamikaze drone attack in the Red Sea. Article in the show notes.
-A report came out this weekend that China now supplies 40% of the DoD’s semiconductors through sole source contracts.
--This is the entire setup to the premise of the excellent book Ghost Fleet, which I’ve mentioned before.
amazon.com/Ghost-Fleet-No…
-John Konrad (x.com/johnkonrad) posted a thread on X regarding the insights from 14 USMIL officers who were asked to critique the Vietnam War and its prosecution.
-'For modern day vets, it’s pretty eye opening to see how many things still have not been fixed. Link in the show notes.
Markets/economics:
-Tracy (x.com/chigrl) is a great follow for global commodities. She reported on X this weekend that Iran is making public claims that, despite being sanctioned from selling oil, it is doing so to 15 different countries.
--The Iranian Regime claimed its oil revenues surged to $65bn in the fiscal year ending March 2024.
--If you watched the All In Pod interview with President Trump (I did this weekend), he specifically - and accurately - calls out their cash surplus as the reason Iran had the money to give Hamas for October 7th and the Houthis for their attacks against shipping. I’ll link that interview in the show notes as well because it was a great interview with really good Q&A.
-I discussed the inherent danger of the massive amount of derivatives currently in the market, that number in the quadrillions of dollars and far outnumbers global GDP. X account Peruvian Bull ( x.com/peruvian_bull ) posted a screenshot on Saturday that says:
--Banking regulators found weaknesses in the resolution plans of 4 of the largest 8 American lenders
--FDIC said the so called “livings wills” of JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America that were filed in 2023 were inadequate.
--Regulators found fault with the way each of the banks planned to unwind their massive derivatives portfolios.
--Note: inability to unwind shite derivatives portfolios in 2008 got us into the GFC mess. And yet, here we are again, despite several new Big Gub agencies being created solely to prevent it.
-Lumber prices and futures continue to crater. Along with other indicators, it looks like it’s a bad time to be in the construction industry, especially home building.
-A video posted to TikTok (and then repurposed to X by x.com/FinanceLancelot ) shows 900 recent foreclosures in Irving, Texas. I used to work out of an office in Irving, and it’s a nice area. Not a good sign.
-275 large US companies have declared bankruptcy through May of this year, the highest number since 2010. Note: this will continue as many business models that required “cheap and easy” money will be shaken out.
Business:
-NVDA insiders are selling stock at the fastest pace in years. Of course there’s good reason to with the share price this high and a recent 10-for-1 stock split, but insider selling is one hallmark that many wise investors look for as a sign of a top or something else.
-WSJ issued a report saying that Boeing knew its Starliner had leak issues before they sent it up to the ISS, which is incredibly troubling that they would identify a problem of that magnitude and still let it launch.
-I read 2 fascinating threads on the Boeing issue by X account Labrador Skeptic over the past several days: one on the “intelligentsia vs Elon Musk” and the other on “Boeing’s competency crisis driven by financial gimmicks.” Both links in the show notes.
-On the same note, The Babylon Bee posted a hilarious skit at the end of last week noscriptd Boeing: Our Number One Priority is Diversity. It’s hilarious and will be in the show notes. Ridicule the ridiculous.
-2 Distress Calls: UK Navy crew abandons one ship in the Gulf of Aden, another ship hit with a kamikaze drone attack in the Red Sea. Article in the show notes.
-A report came out this weekend that China now supplies 40% of the DoD’s semiconductors through sole source contracts.
--This is the entire setup to the premise of the excellent book Ghost Fleet, which I’ve mentioned before.
amazon.com/Ghost-Fleet-No…
-John Konrad (x.com/johnkonrad) posted a thread on X regarding the insights from 14 USMIL officers who were asked to critique the Vietnam War and its prosecution.
-'For modern day vets, it’s pretty eye opening to see how many things still have not been fixed. Link in the show notes.
Markets/economics:
-Tracy (x.com/chigrl) is a great follow for global commodities. She reported on X this weekend that Iran is making public claims that, despite being sanctioned from selling oil, it is doing so to 15 different countries.
--The Iranian Regime claimed its oil revenues surged to $65bn in the fiscal year ending March 2024.
--If you watched the All In Pod interview with President Trump (I did this weekend), he specifically - and accurately - calls out their cash surplus as the reason Iran had the money to give Hamas for October 7th and the Houthis for their attacks against shipping. I’ll link that interview in the show notes as well because it was a great interview with really good Q&A.
-I discussed the inherent danger of the massive amount of derivatives currently in the market, that number in the quadrillions of dollars and far outnumbers global GDP. X account Peruvian Bull ( x.com/peruvian_bull ) posted a screenshot on Saturday that says:
--Banking regulators found weaknesses in the resolution plans of 4 of the largest 8 American lenders
--FDIC said the so called “livings wills” of JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America that were filed in 2023 were inadequate.
--Regulators found fault with the way each of the banks planned to unwind their massive derivatives portfolios.
--Note: inability to unwind shite derivatives portfolios in 2008 got us into the GFC mess. And yet, here we are again, despite several new Big Gub agencies being created solely to prevent it.
-Lumber prices and futures continue to crater. Along with other indicators, it looks like it’s a bad time to be in the construction industry, especially home building.
-A video posted to TikTok (and then repurposed to X by x.com/FinanceLancelot ) shows 900 recent foreclosures in Irving, Texas. I used to work out of an office in Irving, and it’s a nice area. Not a good sign.
-275 large US companies have declared bankruptcy through May of this year, the highest number since 2010. Note: this will continue as many business models that required “cheap and easy” money will be shaken out.
Business:
-NVDA insiders are selling stock at the fastest pace in years. Of course there’s good reason to with the share price this high and a recent 10-for-1 stock split, but insider selling is one hallmark that many wise investors look for as a sign of a top or something else.
-WSJ issued a report saying that Boeing knew its Starliner had leak issues before they sent it up to the ISS, which is incredibly troubling that they would identify a problem of that magnitude and still let it launch.
-I read 2 fascinating threads on the Boeing issue by X account Labrador Skeptic over the past several days: one on the “intelligentsia vs Elon Musk” and the other on “Boeing’s competency crisis driven by financial gimmicks.” Both links in the show notes.
-On the same note, The Babylon Bee posted a hilarious skit at the end of last week noscriptd Boeing: Our Number One Priority is Diversity. It’s hilarious and will be in the show notes. Ridicule the ridiculous.
Geopolitics:
-RUMINT: I watched a piece from The Duran this weekend discussing how the French political establishment is furious at Macron for dissolving parliament and calling for new elections after his resounding loss at the polls a couple weeks ago.
--The phrase used was, “pulling the rug up on his way out the door,” which is an exceptionally tres french comment if you know the culture.
-Global News is reporting that polling it had done through Ipsos says that 68% of the Canadian population wants Trudeau out of office.
-Recent polling analysis has found that French women have swung widely right in the recent vote in France. Yeah, that will happen when they no longer feel safe walking the streets in broad daylight.
Social dynamics/societal/culture war/Legal:
-Neil Olliver interview with Tucker Carlson. Please watch in its entirety. Link in the show notes.
-A video of a teen pulling a nuclear attack warning prank on his uncle was posted on X this weekend, and if I owned a marketing agency I would hire that kid in an instant for whatever price he named. Brilliant. Link in the show notes.
-Very funny “always know who you’re talking to” thread by x.com/fem_mb on X. Link in the show notes.
-Electoral college point made by Josie the Redheaded Libertarian (x.com/TRHLofficial) :
(won't display on X)
x.com/TRHLofficial/s…
Conspiracy-y:
I will often direct our readers & listeners to an interview that I’ve watched which hones in on a single, salient point in great detail. I mentioned it above but I will do so here again: please watch the Neil Olliver and Tucker Carlson interview that was posted this week.
I’ve seen many of Neil’s segments over the past year or so, and I always knew him to be an insightful person but didn’t realize just how much so.
This interview covers all of the biggest questions, and many of the previous “conspiracy theories” that are now proven fact, from the past several years - as well as a few for which the final act has yet to be delivered.
Well worth the watch:
Neil Olliver and Tucker Carlson Interview
youtu.be/awZ7PYrofEQ?si…
White Pill:
I watched the video of the All In Podcast summit with all star investor and Bridgewater hedge fund manager Ray Dalio over the weekend, and it included some exceptional, yet difficult to bring to reality, White Pills for the USA.
I’ve read Dalio’s books, read his white papers, and listened to many of his interviews. Many (myself included) aren’t fans of his heavy investment in China, but at the end of the day he’s a capitalist that didn’t come from money and fought his way to the top - by doing extremely deep dive research into the things he knew he needed to become an expert in.
While many investors and traders spend their time studying technicals, charts, and patterns, Dalio immerses himself in history. He even talks about going back as far as the 600s (AD) of the history of Chinese dynasties to understand the ebb and flow of global powers, money, and military.
The White Pill contained in this interview: Dalio, with all he knows, is one of the few who believes that neither the downfall of the USA nor war with China are inevitable, and he calls out what changes he thinks are needed to be made to buck the “end of empires” trend for the US in our current moment.
youtu.be/7TGJRzRSzL4?si…
Implications:
Foreign money pouring in to hyper partisan NGOs in swing states, 49 states giving voter registration to illegals, and certain cities & states still fighting tooth and nail against cleaning up dirty voter rolls. This is going to be an interesting year, as I’ve said.
We noted Friday that Europe is buying more gas from RUS than the US and now UKR is launching missiles at public beaches (with our help) - WTAF are we doing here, guys?
The EU tyrants were shown the door recently, and now our nice neighbors to the North seem to be sick with their petty tyrant as well. Is the world healing?
The Weekly Read (Monday):
Ghost Fleet by PW Singer and August Cole
-RUMINT: I watched a piece from The Duran this weekend discussing how the French political establishment is furious at Macron for dissolving parliament and calling for new elections after his resounding loss at the polls a couple weeks ago.
--The phrase used was, “pulling the rug up on his way out the door,” which is an exceptionally tres french comment if you know the culture.
-Global News is reporting that polling it had done through Ipsos says that 68% of the Canadian population wants Trudeau out of office.
-Recent polling analysis has found that French women have swung widely right in the recent vote in France. Yeah, that will happen when they no longer feel safe walking the streets in broad daylight.
Social dynamics/societal/culture war/Legal:
-Neil Olliver interview with Tucker Carlson. Please watch in its entirety. Link in the show notes.
-A video of a teen pulling a nuclear attack warning prank on his uncle was posted on X this weekend, and if I owned a marketing agency I would hire that kid in an instant for whatever price he named. Brilliant. Link in the show notes.
-Very funny “always know who you’re talking to” thread by x.com/fem_mb on X. Link in the show notes.
-Electoral college point made by Josie the Redheaded Libertarian (x.com/TRHLofficial) :
(won't display on X)
x.com/TRHLofficial/s…
Conspiracy-y:
I will often direct our readers & listeners to an interview that I’ve watched which hones in on a single, salient point in great detail. I mentioned it above but I will do so here again: please watch the Neil Olliver and Tucker Carlson interview that was posted this week.
I’ve seen many of Neil’s segments over the past year or so, and I always knew him to be an insightful person but didn’t realize just how much so.
This interview covers all of the biggest questions, and many of the previous “conspiracy theories” that are now proven fact, from the past several years - as well as a few for which the final act has yet to be delivered.
Well worth the watch:
Neil Olliver and Tucker Carlson Interview
youtu.be/awZ7PYrofEQ?si…
White Pill:
I watched the video of the All In Podcast summit with all star investor and Bridgewater hedge fund manager Ray Dalio over the weekend, and it included some exceptional, yet difficult to bring to reality, White Pills for the USA.
I’ve read Dalio’s books, read his white papers, and listened to many of his interviews. Many (myself included) aren’t fans of his heavy investment in China, but at the end of the day he’s a capitalist that didn’t come from money and fought his way to the top - by doing extremely deep dive research into the things he knew he needed to become an expert in.
While many investors and traders spend their time studying technicals, charts, and patterns, Dalio immerses himself in history. He even talks about going back as far as the 600s (AD) of the history of Chinese dynasties to understand the ebb and flow of global powers, money, and military.
The White Pill contained in this interview: Dalio, with all he knows, is one of the few who believes that neither the downfall of the USA nor war with China are inevitable, and he calls out what changes he thinks are needed to be made to buck the “end of empires” trend for the US in our current moment.
youtu.be/7TGJRzRSzL4?si…
Implications:
Foreign money pouring in to hyper partisan NGOs in swing states, 49 states giving voter registration to illegals, and certain cities & states still fighting tooth and nail against cleaning up dirty voter rolls. This is going to be an interesting year, as I’ve said.
We noted Friday that Europe is buying more gas from RUS than the US and now UKR is launching missiles at public beaches (with our help) - WTAF are we doing here, guys?
The EU tyrants were shown the door recently, and now our nice neighbors to the North seem to be sick with their petty tyrant as well. Is the world healing?
The Weekly Read (Monday):
Ghost Fleet by PW Singer and August Cole
X (formerly Twitter)
♀️Jennifer Gingrich ✡️ (@fem_mb) on X
Feminist librarian. Just left of center. Humans can't change sex & men don't belong in women's spaces or sports. My account is not monetized. Am Yisrael Chai.🎗
I’ve spoken and written about this book before, but it’s exceptionally timely for many reasons (especially with today’s note that 40% of DoD semis are coming from China). I personally believe that much of our competency crisis, especially in terms of defense and foreign policy, is due to specialists who spend careers in niche areas and then are given positions that require a very macro perspective - that they don’t have.
Our overreliance on tech (which often has critical components made by frenemies or adversaries) is extremely dangerous, and this book outlines precisely why.
However, in the most White Pills of ways, American ingenuity and “boots on the ground” Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) find creative solutions and win the day:
amazon.com/Ghost-Fleet-No…
Macro takeaways/lessons for the week:
Housing market issues, unwindable derivatives, insiders selling stock like crazy at the company that is pretty much driving the US stock market, NeoCons killing civilians of a rival nuclear power. How’s your gold, silver, beans, butter, and bullets portfolio looking?
Links mentioned in the show:
Intro & Outtro music: Blind by Mike Amabile and Run Over Twice
open.spotify.com/track/6SG99nL3…
1AP Media Defamation Crowdfunding Links
givesendgo.com/1APMediaDefama…
Reader Homework: Afghanistan 360 post
open.substack.com/pub/robertplew…
Neil Olliver and Tucker Carlson Interview
youtu.be/awZ7PYrofEQ?si…
Teenager Nuclear Attack Prank On His Uncle
x.com/RyanAFournier/…
Article: 2 Distress Calls for UK Navy
zerohedge.com/geopolitical/k…
Trump Interview on the All In Podcast
youtu.be/blqIZGXWUpU?si…
Labrador Skeptic Boeing Starliner Problems Threads
The Intelligentsia vs Elon Musk
x.com/SaysSimulation…
Boeing’s competency crisis driven by financial gimmicks
x.com/SaysSimulation…
Very Funny “Always Know Who You’re Talking To” Thread
x.com/fem_mb/status/…
Article: How Non-Citizens Are Getting Voting Registration Forms Across the US
nypost.com/2024/06/14/us-…
Video: $1bn in Chinese NGO Money Tracked to Chinese Progressive Association
rumble.com/v4wnsw0-privat…
Skit: Boeing: Our Number One Priority is Diversity
x.com/TheBabylonBee/…
Rabobank Forecasting a Trump Win
research.rabobank.com/markets/en/doc…
USMIL Post-Vietnam Critiques That Still Haven’t Been Fixed
x.com/johnkonrad/sta…
Our overreliance on tech (which often has critical components made by frenemies or adversaries) is extremely dangerous, and this book outlines precisely why.
However, in the most White Pills of ways, American ingenuity and “boots on the ground” Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) find creative solutions and win the day:
amazon.com/Ghost-Fleet-No…
Macro takeaways/lessons for the week:
Housing market issues, unwindable derivatives, insiders selling stock like crazy at the company that is pretty much driving the US stock market, NeoCons killing civilians of a rival nuclear power. How’s your gold, silver, beans, butter, and bullets portfolio looking?
Links mentioned in the show:
Intro & Outtro music: Blind by Mike Amabile and Run Over Twice
open.spotify.com/track/6SG99nL3…
1AP Media Defamation Crowdfunding Links
givesendgo.com/1APMediaDefama…
Reader Homework: Afghanistan 360 post
open.substack.com/pub/robertplew…
Neil Olliver and Tucker Carlson Interview
youtu.be/awZ7PYrofEQ?si…
Teenager Nuclear Attack Prank On His Uncle
x.com/RyanAFournier/…
Article: 2 Distress Calls for UK Navy
zerohedge.com/geopolitical/k…
Trump Interview on the All In Podcast
youtu.be/blqIZGXWUpU?si…
Labrador Skeptic Boeing Starliner Problems Threads
The Intelligentsia vs Elon Musk
x.com/SaysSimulation…
Boeing’s competency crisis driven by financial gimmicks
x.com/SaysSimulation…
Very Funny “Always Know Who You’re Talking To” Thread
x.com/fem_mb/status/…
Article: How Non-Citizens Are Getting Voting Registration Forms Across the US
nypost.com/2024/06/14/us-…
Video: $1bn in Chinese NGO Money Tracked to Chinese Progressive Association
rumble.com/v4wnsw0-privat…
Skit: Boeing: Our Number One Priority is Diversity
x.com/TheBabylonBee/…
Rabobank Forecasting a Trump Win
research.rabobank.com/markets/en/doc…
USMIL Post-Vietnam Critiques That Still Haven’t Been Fixed
x.com/johnkonrad/sta…