The U.S. economy probably won’t grow this year at the Trump administration’s 3.1-percent target rate, treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin admitted last week. Mnuchin blamed the Coronavirus outbreak and Boeing’s woes with its 737 Max jetliner. As of today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has reported, with great fanfare, the grand total of 13 confirmed...
Tag: Feb112020
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MARIJUANA: PAY HIGH TAXES TO GET HIGH
With the economy showing signs of slowing and government debt rising, more states and cities are looking to marijuana as a way to squeeze money from the public, in the name of taxes, to enrich government coffers. California’s counties, cities, and towns took in $1.86 billion in grass taxes in 2018 and about the same...
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DOW AND DOLLAR RIDING HIGH
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose last week, despite a 277-point dip on Friday that was attributed to worries about the impact of the Coronavirus. The gain reversed the 600-point drop on 31 January and set a record intraday high of 29,407 on Thursday. As we go to press, the Dow hit a record high...
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CHILE: PROTESTS ESCALATE
Now in its fourth month, mass pubic protests in Chile against government corruption, declining living standards, low wages, and lack of basic health care continue to heat up. Last week, police assaulted bystanders and drove police cars into crowds to break up demonstrations. In retaliation, protesters in the capital city of Santiago manned barricades and...
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TURKEY & SYRIA: THE WORST IS YET TO COME
The Syrian War, launched by the U.S. and the Arab League in 2011 to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad, escalated on a new front last week after Turkey retaliated for the killing of seven Turkish soldiers by Syrian forces. Turkey, which has illegally invaded Syria, responded by launching a major offensive led by F-16...
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TRUMP MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN = NO PEACE
In the wake of the highly touted release of President Trump’s Peace Plan for Middle East, drafted in part by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, protests have escalated and several Palestinians were killed last week by Israeli security forces in the West Bank. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority stated the Palestinian people will not abide...
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IS THE CIA’S “DARK PRINCE” DEAD?
As reported in last week’s Trends Journal, a U.S. Air Force Bombardier E-11A jet was either shot down or crashed in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said two American Air Force pilots were the only ones on the plane. The Pentagon said the crash was caused by a mechanical failure. Both the Taliban and Iranian news sources...
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IRAN/IRAQ: QUESTION U.S. EVIDENCE
The evidence claimed by Washington that Iran-backed Iraqi militia fired rockets last December on an Iraqi military base, which housed U.S. troops and killed an American contractor and wounded several others, may have been false. In response to the attack, the U.S bombed three Iraqi-Shia military sites, killing 25 troops. Following the U.S. strike, hundreds...
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IRAQ: MORE PROTESTS, MORE MURDER
The anti-government demonstrations that began last October continue, as eight more protesters were killed this past week. Millions of Iraqi citizens, outraged at entrenched government corruption, a dismal economy, and lack of basic living necessities, have taken to the streets in their fight for a decent life. The Iraqi Human Rights Commission reports that some...
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VENEZUELA: GET READY FOR WAR
At his State of the Union address last Tuesday, President Donald Trump honoured one of his special guests, Juan Guaidó, the self-anointed President of Venezuela. Since January 2019, Guaidó, backed by the United States, has tried and failed to overthrow the presidency of Nicholas Maduro, who won the election last May, which international observers rated...