When the COVID War broke out in the winter of 2020, we had forecast that, with offices locked down and people working from home, the commercial real estate sector in big cities would be hit hard. We have been updating that forecast continually, for example, in December 2020 we had assessed the implication on the commercial real estate market in...
GLOBAL BANKSTERS GOING DIGITAL
As we had forecast, central banks, led by China, would be going digital. And last week Hyun Song Shim, director of research at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), said in a 23 June statement reported by the New York Times that digital currencies issued by central banks “are an idea whose time has come.” The BIS is owned collectively...
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT REFUTES CLAIM THAT IT ‘WALKED BACK’ RECOGNITION OF ISRAELI SOVEREIGNTY ON THE GOLAN
The U.S. on Friday refuted a report that it “walked back” former President Trump’s Golan sovereignty recognition for Israel and called a report stating otherwise “false.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that Washington acknowledges the safety concerns that Israel has if it had to return the territory it secured during the Six Day War in...
PALESTINIANS VS SETTLERS: FIGHT CONTINUES
Violent clashes broke out in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem that involved Palestinians and Jewish settlers lobbing fireworks and stones at one another. The clashes come at a tense time in the region that is focused on the eviction of Palestinians from their homes. These Israeli settlers claim that they have the legal right to evict these families from...

MYANMAR REBELS DECLARE WAR ON JUNTA
As we have been reporting in the Trends Journal, since 1 February, tens of thousands of protesters in Myanmar have taken to the streets to fight for democracy after a military coup overturned recent election results and arrested the civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who reportedly won by a landslide this past November. Protesters have been shot in the...
BYE BYE U.S.: TALIBAN TO TAKE KABUL
As the Taliban continues to expand its military might, a new assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies predict that Afghanistan capital Kabul could fall within six months after American forces withdraw from the country. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Taliban has been taking control of large swaths of land without much of a fight. Security forces in the country have...
ETHIOPIAN MILITARY CRISIS CONTINUES TO WORSEN
The conflict in northern Ethiopia has shown no signs of slowing and last week included the bombing of a bustling market followed by the downing of a C-130 military transport plane by Tigrayan rebels. The New York Times reported that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s aggression in Tigray has led to unfathomable conditions for those living there. Thousands have been killed, about...
UK RAMPS UP CONFRONTATION WITH RUSSIA
The Russian military said its navy fired warning shots at a British destroyer in the Black Sea followed by fighter jets dropping bombs in its path, which led to the United Kingdom quickly refuting the claim. Russia said the H.H.S Defender entered its territorial waters near Crimea and retreated after the shots were fired. Britain denied shots were fired at...
CHINA: BIRTH LIMITS OUT, EDUCATION LIMITS IN
China, the country known for imposing strict limits on the number of offspring produced, is relaxing those limits in order to deal with a demographic imbalance, while at the same time exercising more control over children’s education. The Wall Street Journal, in an article appearing 25 June, reports that a once-in-a-decade census published in May revealed that China is facing...
CHINA KILLS HONG KONG NEWSPAPER, U.S. SEIZES IRANIAN PRESS SITES
Last Thursday, the Apple Daily, the 26-year-old Hong Kong newspaper published its last edition, as well as stopped updating its website, citing “employee safety and staffing issues” for the shutdown. The newspaper had become known for its pro-democracy stance and had expressed unbridled criticism of the Beijing regime until authorities began a crackdown on dissent, which became untenable. “Crackdown” is...