2023-04
BRICS and De-dollarization
Today's news is not the news of the month. And in a media world governed by short-termism, the acceleration of BRICS development goes unnoticed. Yet, history is unfolding!
De-dollarization
In a historic speech at the BRICS bank (New Development Bank of Shanghai) now chaired by Dilma Rousseff, Lula questioned the use of the US Dollar as an international exchange currency.
And it's not just wishful thinking, as the movement is already well underway. For example, for the first time in March, the Yuan became the most used currency for Chinese international trade, ahead of the dollar! And in general, bilateral agreements to trade in local currencies are multiplying.
But most importantly, Lula is talking again about the future BRICS currency already mentioned by Russia at the end of March. Not only will this currency facilitate trade within the BRICS, but it will also encourage peripheral countries to use it for their bilateral trade with BRICS members and interest countries traumatized by the IMF.
Supported by an economy now stronger than that of the G7, this future currency has all the makings of a future global reserve currency. Indeed, while the development of trade in Yuan or local currencies is undeniable, the Dollar's status as a global reserve currency has not yet been challenged. But a currency backed by the BRICS would undermine this hegemony: if it is accepted by the world's largest economic bloc, why would a country still need the Dollar?
It's a vicious circle for the West. The Dollar only holds up because of its hegemonic status, which has allowed the US to incur reckless debt. Each Dollar in circulation is only a debt acknowledgment; but the world is realizing that this debt will never be repaid... To limit the impact of what is becoming a foretold disaster, developing countries are looking for alternatives... Which accelerates the fall of the Dollar!
Expansion of the BRICS
It is no coincidence that applications to join the BRICS are accelerating: 19 candidates by the end of April, particularly Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia...
And this interest goes beyond currency; it is also a political alliance. Non-Western countries are tired of the threatening and aggressive international politics of the USA. Sanctions against Russia have accelerated this realization!
The expansion of the BRICS and the adoption of a common currency will signal the end of the Dollar's hegemony, the collapse of the USA, which will have to default on its debt, and thus the end of Western superpower status.
And this slow-motion movie is actually moving very fast. On the slippery slope, we start by sliding gently... Until we lose our balance!
Announced end of freedom of expression in the West
The decline of the West also means the disappearance of the values that made it rich, particularly freedom of expression, which is under attack from all sides. Here are a few examples.
Restrict Act in the USA
Often called the "TikTok Ban," it is actually a much broader text aimed officially at protecting the USA from foreign adversaries. TikTok is not even mentioned!
But in reality, it goes much further.
The text allows for the monitoring and blocking of all exchanges involving material or software technologies involving these hostile countries: China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea.
But the same measures can be applied as soon as a risk is detected for national security or the security of American citizens... Which is a much broader scope!
And if individuals or entities wanted to bypass the restrictions imposed on these materials or software, they could risk up to 1 million dollars in fines and 20 years in prison.
The bill is written in an extremely vague way. For example, it allows for the criminalization of VPN use by individuals, as it covers all services designed or intended to evade or circumvent the application of the Act ("designed or intended to evade or circumvent the application of this Act").
In its current wording, this text allows the US government to block any materials, applications, and services it wishes arbitrarily (it doesn't need to justify itself!), and to monitor the internet activity of every person and entity present on American soil.
It will be interesting to see if the text passes the constitutionality test...
New law in Ireland
Or how to sacrifice freedom of expression, privacy, and establish a totalitarian state in one fell swoop! Link to the official text.
Ireland is on the verge of passing one of the worst laws against incitement to hatred in the West, and that says a lot.
Simply possessing content that could incite violence or hatred towards a person or group of people will become punishable by imprisonment (page 11).
Simple possession!
Worse still, the person implicated for this possession of content will be presumed guilty unless they can prove their innocence, which they can only do in a limited context that does not allow for an appeal to freedom of thought, opinion, or expression... Not even to humor!
In other words, this law will allow anyone, at any time, to be thrown in jail based on a crime they did not commit or plan to commit, just because they have content that could be considered as inciting hatred.
And just about any content can be classified as such since it involves anything that could incite violence against individuals based on their specific characteristics, listed on page 6: race, color, nationality, religion, ethnic origin, descent, gender, sexual characteristics, sexual orientation, disability.
In other words, if you have a joke about women in your emails, a caricature of Muhammad in your cupboards, or a link in your favorites to a page saying that men cannot have children, you are headed for prison.
Anyone, anytime.
Twitter Files #20
And to confirm and worsen so many things we already knew: the Twitter Files #20 describe the collaboration between the US government and its army, "NGOs", journalists, and internet information platforms (all of them! Twitter, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Verizon, Google, Reddit...).
We see internet platforms organizing themselves to decide how to present and classify information, flagging "disinformation"...
We also find incredible information: a "disinformation" control exercise targeting Hunter Biden before the leak of his famous laptop's content, which involved the Washington Post, the New York Times, Rolling Stone, NBC, CNN, Twitter, Facebook, and Stanford University. Much like the coronavirus pandemic exercise two months before the "real" pandemic started...
Also revealed, the indecent amounts for organizations supposedly fighting "disinformation" on the Internet: almost 1 billion dollars for Peraton, a largely unknown military subcontractor to the public, to "counter disinformation originating from the USA's enemies".
And as always, omnipresent, the collusion between the personnel of all these organizations; we always find the same names, the same goals, the same political strategy. It's the system in action, open-hearted.
In Brief
- The EU will gradually make our homes unsellable and unrentable by imposing exorbitant energy renovation works. As if the increase in interest rates was not enough to cause the collapse of the real estate market... This will allow banks to buy up Europeans' real estate assets for a pittance and gradually make everyone a tenant. You'll own nothing and you'll be happy!
- High-quality pranks! After Christine Lagarde last month, who admitted the accelerated implementation of the Digital Euro to control all transactions over 300 euros, two new victims:
- François Hollande, who admits that the Minsk agreements allowed the West to arm Ukraine for a war with Russia, and that the West supported the overthrow of Yanukovych in 2013, with the goal of bringing Ukraine into Europe.
- Jerome Powell, who admits to causing a recession through the policy of raising interest rates.
- In Europe, the announcement of a carbon tax "for everyone." We were already talking about it in December, it's now official: we will all pay a tax for our heating and fuel starting in 2027. And we're not talking about small amounts: 45€ per ton, or 1800€ for the average French family of 4 that emits 40 tons of carbon per year! Europe's economic suicide reaches freefall speed.
- Finally, a few words about the disconnection between French political elites and the population. With the forced adoption of the pension reform, perhaps best symbolized by the army of riot police in front of the Constitutional Council at the time of the final validation, it feels like a definitive separation. State representatives can no longer appear in public or show their faces. The prize obviously goes to Emmanuel Macron, who since his rather low-risk outing in Alsace no longer dares to appear in public and has to hide even for a football match...