August 30, 2021

Some Facts You Will Want to Know!!! Sweeping Jan 6th under the rug by FBI

Friends and Family,

Jim Rickards knows Washington, DC well and provides us some truth. He has advised U.S. presidents and leaders around the world.

Roger

FBI Sweeps Capitol Hill Riot Under The Rug… Afghan Gold Is Frozen At The Fed… And More!

Jim Rickards Dear Strategic Intelligence Reader,

Below are Five Links that are important articles in the world of politics, finance and economics that can affect your investments. I recommend you read them this week to keep up to date on current events happening in the world.

As you review them, you'll realize new developments make a few things clear. The FBI is sweeping the Capitol Hill riots under the rug and Afghan gold is frozen at the Fed. Keeping you informed about these events and more is the objective of my five links each week.

But before you review this week's activities, the continued volatility for markets due to the Delta variant and the horrible events in Afghanistan make the case for owning gold stronger than ever.

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After you have finished doing that, review this week's important Five Links that I recommend below…

I. We Know Vaccines Don't Work As Expected. It May Be Worse Than That.

Everyday Americans probably believe that the COVID vaccines will keep them from getting COVID. That's not true and never has been true. The vaccines do not prevent you from being infected with the COVID virus. They do not keep you from spreading the COVID virus. There have been many cases of so-called "breakthrough" infections where double-vaxxed citizens get COVID anyway. That's not uncommon. There's even new evidence that double-vaxxed individuals who get COVID will build up huge viral loads in their noses and sinuses and become super spreaders and infect others. Do the vaccines do anything? Yes, they are effective at reducing severe symptoms of COVID. They also reduce the death rate among those who get infected. That's advantageous for the most vulnerable, including those over 70 years old and those suffering from obesity, emphysema, diabetes and other conditions closely associated with fatalities due to COVID. That said, there's almost no reason for children, teenagers and otherwise healthy individuals in their 20s or even 30s to take the vaccine. Among all individuals, vaccinated and unvaccinated, the global survival rate is 99.2%. Among those under 70, the survival rate is 99.97%. The survival rate for children is 99.995%. The evidence is clear that masks don't work and lockdowns don't work (but they do destroy economies). The time has come to stop living in fear and start treating COVID as an endemic disease that will be with us for a long time, like the seasonal flu or diabetes. Unfortunately, government authorities continue to insist they can control the situation with orders and mandates. This article describes the situation in Israel today. Israel is the most heavily vaxxed country in the world, with over 60% of the population fully vaccinated and almost 100% of those over 60 fully vaccinated. Now Israel is experiencing a massive increase in infections, including cases among the fully-vaxxed. The new wave of infections is further proof that lockdowns don't work. The virus goes where it wants. The government has also determined that the vaccines wear off after six months or less and is recommending a third shot for everyone. The problem of course is that the third dose will wear off too so that a fourth, fifth or sixth dose will be needed. With every new dose comes a new risk of dangerous side effects. The vaccinated will be getting boosters the rest of their lives and the virus still won't go away. The only real solution is patience, herd immunity and some prophylactic treatments including Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D, zinc and other inexpensive measures under a doctor's supervision. Meanwhile, governments will keep imposing worthless mandates and economies will continue on their new trajectory of slow growth.

III. Lepers Wore Bells In The Middle Ages. Wall Street Wants The Same Now.

Leprosy has always been one of the most feared diseases and its sufferers have always been held up as those who must be shunned and not allowed to mingle in normal society. These ideas go back to antiquity but continued up until the 19th century. The idea of a leper colony persisted until the 1960s in places such as Kalaupapa, Hawaii (where the few remaining lepers still live). In the Middle Ages, lepers wore bells or carried clappers to gain attention because their voices were attenuated by the disease. That history aside, most of what people believe about leprosy is wrong. Technically, it's called Hansen's disease. It is not highly contagious. The disease is curable and early treatment is highly effective. Damage can be more severe if left untreated, but that is rarely the case today. Leprosy is a good example of a disease where the myths outrun the facts with unfair results for the sufferers. It's a case of the "blame the victim" culture, which is all too prevalent. Now, according to this article, we're experiencing another round of misinformed and unfair discrimination related to a disease. Of course, this new episode of misinformed discrimination involves COVID. Society is rapidly turning into a two-tier culture of the vaccinated and non-vaccinated. The article describes the attitudes on Wall Street where vaccination rates are as high as 90% in some firms and the unvaccinated are being treated like lepers. One investment banker said, "If you're someone who is not vaccinated on Wall Street, you're considered a loser." Even firms that do not require full vaccination to return to work are forcing the unvaccinated to undergo weekly testing and to sit apart from colleagues and wear masks while others are maskless. These rules are stupid; what might be called Vaccine Voodoo. Vaccination does not stop infection. It does not stop the spread. A fully vaccinated person can catch COVID and spread it to others. (Vaccination does reduce severe reactions to the disease in many cases; it does not stop the spread). The non-vaccinated have as much to fear in terms of catching the disease from the vaccinated as the other way around. There are ample reasons not to receive the vaccination, including among the 38 million Americans who have recovered from COVID and have stronger antibody protection than the vaccinated. They're treated like lepers too. This vaccination discrimination will do nothing to slow the spread of the disease. It will do a lot to tear society apart. Investors can properly understand vaccination discrimination as one more drag on productivity and economic growth.

IV. FBI Sweeps Capitol Hill Riot Under The Rug. That's Because They Caused It.

The media coverage of the January 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill would lead one to believe that the U.S. republic was hanging by a thread. That's mostly a lie. Yes, there was a riot with property damage, some violence and a large number of cases of illegal trespassing on government property. No one defends the violence and damage. Still, the only person killed was an unarmed female veteran shot at point-blank range by a Capitol Hill cop who gave no warning and did not confront any threat to his own life or those of others. The cop who shot the unarmed woman was previously responsible for leaving a loaded service pistol in a Capitol Hill restroom with the safety in the off position. He received no disciplinary action for that gross negligence. There was never a threat to the election certification process (although the process was delayed for a time). Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cowered in a locked room and said she feared for her life. In fact, the streets of her district in New York City are more violent and dangerous than the Capitol that day. Yet, the House of Representatives led by Nancy Pelosi will move forward with a rigged commission looking into the matter. The object is not to get at the truth of what happened. Their object is to perpetuate the myths of an "insurrection" and try to embarrass Republicans in advance of the 2020 mid-term elections (which Pelosi's party will probably lose). In the midst of this propaganda exercise, the FBI has just dropped a bombshell. In this article, it is reported that the FBI announced that "no coordinated plans" were discovered to break into the Capitol. An FBI official said, "Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases. ... There was no grand scheme ... to storm the Capitol." What? After months of accusing the rioters of a coordinated insurrection to disrupt the government, the FBI now concludes there was no coordination. Things like this don't just happen in Washington. There's always a backstory where the Deep State is involved. Here's the backstory: If there was any coordination in the January 6 riot, it was conducted by the FBI. The FBI has agents in the crowd. It also had a network of informants and collaborators working on FBI orders to keep the government informed of what was going on. Once the riot got going, these FBI assets egged-on the protestors and did everything they could to make the riot worse. In short, the FBI was largely responsible for the scale and direction of the riot itself. They hoped to keep this under wraps. But, as defense lawyers for the arrested rioters began to dig into the case, it became clear that the FBI wrongdoing would be revealed. Now the FBI tries to sweep this all under the rug by declaring there was no coordination. The FBI is not trying to dismiss wrongdoing by others. They're trying to cover-up their only extensive role in coordinating the riots. Lying and cover-ups are all in a day's work for the corrupt FBI.

V. Evergrande Stocks Loses $80 Billion In One Day. This Will Get Far Worse.

The name Evergrande is not a household name among stock investors, but it soon will be. Evergrande is one of the largest companies in China. It's technically a private company, but in China the government has a finger in every pie so it might better be understood as a public-private enterprise despite its registered stock traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (Evergrande ADRs are traded in the United States also). Evergrande is the largest real estate investment company in China. It also has major subsidiary operations, including the Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (specializing in electronic vehicles, EVs. Its former name was the Evergrande Health Industry Group). The property investment activities resemble Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It's automobile activities resemble Tesla. If you can imagine Tesla owned by Fannie Mae, you're on the right track in understanding Evergrande. Right now, the parent real estate company is in danger of complete collapse. Its insolvency has been warded off by government bailout loans, but there are signs that the government is getting ready to pull the plug. According to this article, the EV business is also collapsing. It recently lost $80 billion in market capitalization in a matter of days. This is not just another corporate failure. A collapse of Evergrande will dry up financing for new real estate investment. The stock collapse could lead to a crash of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The ripple effects among Evergrande's creditors are difficult to predict, but could easily lead to a sequential collapse of other financial institutions and a broader crash in Chinese stock markets. The government is well-aware of the situation. They are monitoring Evergrande's cash and condition and will try to avoid a more general financial panic. Still, such efforts are not always handled perfectly. The government may wait too long to remedy the situation. Another difficulty is that the Chinese government wants to "send a message" to real estate developers and investors that they need to cool down their activity in the face of an emerging bubble in property prices. The difficulty is that government efforts to deflate a bubble often end-up popping the bubble with unforeseen and even catastrophic results. A financial panic can emerge overnight just when the government forms the belief that events are under control. Even in a best case, the Evergrande saga is evidence of slowing growth and declining asset values in Chinese markets. Evergrande can be thought of as a (giant) canary in the coal mine of Chinese financial distress. It's one more reason among many to avoid Chinese stock markets entirely.

All the best,

Jim Rickards

Jim Rickards
Editor, Jim Rickards' Strategic Intelligence

If everyone knew all there is to know, they would not do half the things they do, including myself, therefore I must foregive them, including myself.

Donald J. Trump~ August 30th Update

Statements by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America