-“Fort Liberty” was officially renamed (back) to Fort Bragg this week.
--Spoiler: It was always and forever Fort Bragg to those of us who went through there.
-India’s military killed 31 Maoist rebels in a central region of the country on Sunday:
sofx.com/indian-securit…
Markets/economics:
-Trump announced reciprocal tariffs this week, and the usual suspects lost their minds.
--I will include an infographic from @zerohedge in the show notes of global tariffs against the US, and you will understand why it’s ok to point and laugh at those people losing their minds.
-The major US markets had a mixed week, but the NASDAQ had a pretty good one:
--S&P 500 closed red on Friday, but was up 1.47% on the week
--The Dow also closed red on Friday, but was up 0.55% on the week
--NASDAQ closed green on Friday, and was up 2.58% on the week
--Russell 2000 had a topsy-turvy week, but ended up 0.01% on the week
-Crude oil is down to $70.57 as of Friday evening
-Gold ended Friday at $2,893.70, and the flight of gold & silver from abroad to the US continues
-Currencies are getting a little interesting again:
--EUR/USD: 1.0495 (up)
--USD/JPY: 152.254 (up but still below the 155-160 danger range)
--USD/GBP: 0.7945 (down)
--USD/AUD: 1.5738 (down)
--USD/CAD: 1.4179 (down)
--USD/MXN: 20.2880 (down)
-BTC is back up to $97,380.06
Business:
-Intel stock had its best week since 2000 after VP Vance made comments about domestic chip production during his talk at the AI summit in Paris.
finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-sto…
-Today (Friday) marked 20 days of gains for Meta stock.
-Dell Technologies is reportedly nearing a deal worth $5 billion to provide the servers for xAI (Musk).
-The board of Open AI has unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover offer.
-Joann Fabrics is planning to close hundreds of stores across 40 states.
-Porsche says it will slash 1,900 jobs after sales slump in China and their electric car fiasco, according to @MacroEdgeRes
Health:
-The @MAHAalliance had a press conference after RFK Jr’s confirmation was made official. It is well worth the watch:
x.com/MAHAalliance/s…
-As transparency via DOGE is all the rage these days, there is a health/USAID/UN/Mengele-style question that isn’t being asked - is the UN Population Fund simply eugenics rebranded?
--Internal Kissinger national security memos and other docs seem to point to yes:
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cor…
-The Louisiana Surgeon General has announced the state will no longer promote mass vaccinations:
theepochtimes.com/article/louisi…
Religion:
-Many of the secular folks laugh and brush off Biblical writings because they see them as impossible when viewed through the secular lens.
--A modern-day Jonah and the Whale happened this week in Chile and was caught on camera.
--A great line from a show that I’ve become quite fond of (Evil) explains this type of secular thinking quite well: “The world is weird.”
x.com/AP/status/1890…
Science
-This is wild, and cool, and seems to only fit in this section.
--Mt. Etna, the volcano on Sicily, is currently erupting while there is snow on the ground.
--I’m not sure whether to call this video of skiers with lava in the background dystopian, or majestic, or scary…but let’s just say I’d be strapping on skis if I were there because I’m not really all that smart when it comes to personal safety versus cool stories to have:
x.com/mamboitaliano_…
Geopolitics:
-Only 10 of the 195 nations that signed up for the Paris Climate Accord have met the February 10, 2025 deadline to release their “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”
--Marxists sure do love their “5-year plans.”
--They are also generally not bright people, and they only know how to destroy, not build. This makes sense, as the number above shows that 95% of the nations signed up for the Paris Accord literally couldn’t come up with their required plans.
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cli…
--Spoiler: It was always and forever Fort Bragg to those of us who went through there.
-India’s military killed 31 Maoist rebels in a central region of the country on Sunday:
sofx.com/indian-securit…
Markets/economics:
-Trump announced reciprocal tariffs this week, and the usual suspects lost their minds.
--I will include an infographic from @zerohedge in the show notes of global tariffs against the US, and you will understand why it’s ok to point and laugh at those people losing their minds.
-The major US markets had a mixed week, but the NASDAQ had a pretty good one:
--S&P 500 closed red on Friday, but was up 1.47% on the week
--The Dow also closed red on Friday, but was up 0.55% on the week
--NASDAQ closed green on Friday, and was up 2.58% on the week
--Russell 2000 had a topsy-turvy week, but ended up 0.01% on the week
-Crude oil is down to $70.57 as of Friday evening
-Gold ended Friday at $2,893.70, and the flight of gold & silver from abroad to the US continues
-Currencies are getting a little interesting again:
--EUR/USD: 1.0495 (up)
--USD/JPY: 152.254 (up but still below the 155-160 danger range)
--USD/GBP: 0.7945 (down)
--USD/AUD: 1.5738 (down)
--USD/CAD: 1.4179 (down)
--USD/MXN: 20.2880 (down)
-BTC is back up to $97,380.06
Business:
-Intel stock had its best week since 2000 after VP Vance made comments about domestic chip production during his talk at the AI summit in Paris.
finance.yahoo.com/news/intel-sto…
-Today (Friday) marked 20 days of gains for Meta stock.
-Dell Technologies is reportedly nearing a deal worth $5 billion to provide the servers for xAI (Musk).
-The board of Open AI has unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover offer.
-Joann Fabrics is planning to close hundreds of stores across 40 states.
-Porsche says it will slash 1,900 jobs after sales slump in China and their electric car fiasco, according to @MacroEdgeRes
Health:
-The @MAHAalliance had a press conference after RFK Jr’s confirmation was made official. It is well worth the watch:
x.com/MAHAalliance/s…
-As transparency via DOGE is all the rage these days, there is a health/USAID/UN/Mengele-style question that isn’t being asked - is the UN Population Fund simply eugenics rebranded?
--Internal Kissinger national security memos and other docs seem to point to yes:
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cor…
-The Louisiana Surgeon General has announced the state will no longer promote mass vaccinations:
theepochtimes.com/article/louisi…
Religion:
-Many of the secular folks laugh and brush off Biblical writings because they see them as impossible when viewed through the secular lens.
--A modern-day Jonah and the Whale happened this week in Chile and was caught on camera.
--A great line from a show that I’ve become quite fond of (Evil) explains this type of secular thinking quite well: “The world is weird.”
x.com/AP/status/1890…
Science
-This is wild, and cool, and seems to only fit in this section.
--Mt. Etna, the volcano on Sicily, is currently erupting while there is snow on the ground.
--I’m not sure whether to call this video of skiers with lava in the background dystopian, or majestic, or scary…but let’s just say I’d be strapping on skis if I were there because I’m not really all that smart when it comes to personal safety versus cool stories to have:
x.com/mamboitaliano_…
Geopolitics:
-Only 10 of the 195 nations that signed up for the Paris Climate Accord have met the February 10, 2025 deadline to release their “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).”
--Marxists sure do love their “5-year plans.”
--They are also generally not bright people, and they only know how to destroy, not build. This makes sense, as the number above shows that 95% of the nations signed up for the Paris Accord literally couldn’t come up with their required plans.
armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/cli…
SOFX
Indian Security Forces Kill 31 Maoist Rebels in Chhattisgarh Operation
Indian security forces killed at least 31 Maoist insurgents in a major operation in central India’s Chhattisgarh state on Sunday,
-JD Vance’s speech gave a much-needed global spotlight on the canceled Romanian elections. We’ve covered who seems to have really been behind the ads that were attributed to Russian interference, so there’s no need to re-litigate that.
--This week, however, the (now former) President of Romania has stepped down, and an interim President has taken his place.
--No word on whether the nation will have elections, or if the populist (and electorally-ahead) Georgescue will be allowed to even run.
-Speaking of Vance’s speech, an Afghan “asylum seeker” who was “known to authorities” rammed his car into a crowd in Munich shortly before the speech, injuring 30 people:
sofx.com/30-injured-as-…
-A grenade attack in Grenoble, France injured 12 people this week:
sofx.com/grenade-attack…
--Note: I have a humorous, personal, and totally unrelated story about Grenoble that I may share in the audio podcast version today.
-The Thai Army conducted a raid on online scam operations in Myanmar and has announced that it will be repatriating 260 human trafficking victims who were forced to work in the scam centers:
apnews.com/article/myanma…
Crazy Conspiracy-y:
The town of Worcester, Massachusetts went viral this week when the city’s decision to become the first “transgender sanctuary city” led to some interesting videos from a city council meeting. But this is something worth looking a little bit more deeply into, as I will explain:
breitbart.com/politics/2025/…
I spent a decent amount of time during my childhood in Worcester because it’s where my grandparents lived. They lived there because my grandpa’s final military duty assignment was as the Commandant of the Army Security Agency, which was located at the now-shuttered Fort Devens (in Worcester).
I have a plaque that 10th Special Forces Group (my SF alma mater) gave to my grandpa making him an honorary Green Beret due to the work he’d done for/with 10th Group - as the first US base for 10th Group was also Fort Devens (it has since moved to Fort Carson in Colorado).
I have a distinct memory of my young adult years, going to my grandparent’s home in Worcester for Thanksgiving when I was a Green Beret-to-be going through the Q-course. I wanted to go out and grab a beer, and my dad was categorically against it because Worcester was such a “rough and tumble blue-collar town” that didn’t take kindly to outsiders.
It was certainly a blow to my ego that my dad didn’t think that his barrel-chested freedom fighter son could handle himself if needed, but I heeded his advice.
And that town is now a trans sanctuary city?
It certainly seems odd, and there are several elements mentioned above that “pattern recognizers” and question askers may feel are worth digging into with regard to how that town would become a new ground zero for this culture war battle, specifically.
Macro takeaways/lessons from the week:
-I know this sounds nuts to normal people for me to say…but I still believe that what we’ve seen so far over the past 3 weeks is still just the aperitif of corruption that will be uncovered. Apokalypsis is not a partial kind of thing.
-There are certain cabinet positions that get all of the rock star attention like Kash, Tulsi, RFK Jr, and others, and I totally understand and am very happy about them getting into their positions.
--Personally, for the reasons we’ve covered previously, I believe Bessent (Treasury), Wright (Energy), and Bergum (Interior) will be the triumvirate that leads us into The Golden Age of America. The spice must flow.
You can call me a conspiracy theorist all you want, but…I’m really interested and watching to see if the USAID funding stops lead to the rebels in DRC (M23) and Sudan (RSF) suddenly stopping. The pattern recognizer versus conspiracy theorist ratio is pretty unbeatable at this point.
White pill(s) for the week:
One could argue that President Trump is back in the big seat because of RFK Jr, Nicole Shanahan, and the MAHA alliance that formed a coalition unlike any that I know of in this nation previously.
--This week, however, the (now former) President of Romania has stepped down, and an interim President has taken his place.
--No word on whether the nation will have elections, or if the populist (and electorally-ahead) Georgescue will be allowed to even run.
-Speaking of Vance’s speech, an Afghan “asylum seeker” who was “known to authorities” rammed his car into a crowd in Munich shortly before the speech, injuring 30 people:
sofx.com/30-injured-as-…
-A grenade attack in Grenoble, France injured 12 people this week:
sofx.com/grenade-attack…
--Note: I have a humorous, personal, and totally unrelated story about Grenoble that I may share in the audio podcast version today.
-The Thai Army conducted a raid on online scam operations in Myanmar and has announced that it will be repatriating 260 human trafficking victims who were forced to work in the scam centers:
apnews.com/article/myanma…
Crazy Conspiracy-y:
The town of Worcester, Massachusetts went viral this week when the city’s decision to become the first “transgender sanctuary city” led to some interesting videos from a city council meeting. But this is something worth looking a little bit more deeply into, as I will explain:
breitbart.com/politics/2025/…
I spent a decent amount of time during my childhood in Worcester because it’s where my grandparents lived. They lived there because my grandpa’s final military duty assignment was as the Commandant of the Army Security Agency, which was located at the now-shuttered Fort Devens (in Worcester).
I have a plaque that 10th Special Forces Group (my SF alma mater) gave to my grandpa making him an honorary Green Beret due to the work he’d done for/with 10th Group - as the first US base for 10th Group was also Fort Devens (it has since moved to Fort Carson in Colorado).
I have a distinct memory of my young adult years, going to my grandparent’s home in Worcester for Thanksgiving when I was a Green Beret-to-be going through the Q-course. I wanted to go out and grab a beer, and my dad was categorically against it because Worcester was such a “rough and tumble blue-collar town” that didn’t take kindly to outsiders.
It was certainly a blow to my ego that my dad didn’t think that his barrel-chested freedom fighter son could handle himself if needed, but I heeded his advice.
And that town is now a trans sanctuary city?
It certainly seems odd, and there are several elements mentioned above that “pattern recognizers” and question askers may feel are worth digging into with regard to how that town would become a new ground zero for this culture war battle, specifically.
Macro takeaways/lessons from the week:
-I know this sounds nuts to normal people for me to say…but I still believe that what we’ve seen so far over the past 3 weeks is still just the aperitif of corruption that will be uncovered. Apokalypsis is not a partial kind of thing.
-There are certain cabinet positions that get all of the rock star attention like Kash, Tulsi, RFK Jr, and others, and I totally understand and am very happy about them getting into their positions.
--Personally, for the reasons we’ve covered previously, I believe Bessent (Treasury), Wright (Energy), and Bergum (Interior) will be the triumvirate that leads us into The Golden Age of America. The spice must flow.
You can call me a conspiracy theorist all you want, but…I’m really interested and watching to see if the USAID funding stops lead to the rebels in DRC (M23) and Sudan (RSF) suddenly stopping. The pattern recognizer versus conspiracy theorist ratio is pretty unbeatable at this point.
White pill(s) for the week:
One could argue that President Trump is back in the big seat because of RFK Jr, Nicole Shanahan, and the MAHA alliance that formed a coalition unlike any that I know of in this nation previously.
SOFX
30 Injured as Afghan Asylum Seeker Rams Car Into Munich Protest
A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove a Mini Cooper into a labor union demonstration in Munich on Thursday morning, injuring
Despite the media, DNC, academia, social media, pharma ad dollars, and “polite society” doing all that they could to blacklist and character assassinate RFK JR, enough people realized they had been lied to over the years that it came to a tipping point that could not be walked back from.
A few short years ago, any negative mention or even questioning of vaccines would get you blacklisted or at the very least severely deboosted on social media. Now, we have Dr. Drew and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong (owner of the LA Times) publicly talking about the strange cancers in children and immune system issues that seem highly correlated to the vax rollouts and mandates:
x.com/Humanspective/…
Weekend Meditation:
“To throw away an honest friend, as it were, to throw your life away.”
-Sophocles
Links mentioned in the show:
Intro & outro music: Mike Amabile and Run Over Twice “Blind”
open.spotify.com/track/6SG99nL3…
Media Defamation Lawsuits Crowdfunding Link
givesendgo.com/1APMediaDefama…
Thread with Short and Long Explainer Videos About Our Lawsuits and the J6 False Narratives
x.com/RobertPLewis/s…
DOE Secretary Wright’s 9 Goals for The Golden Era of American Energy Dominance
(Image won't display on X but is int the original Sub post)
Oval Office Mugshot
(Image won't display on X but is int the original Sub post)
The Existing Tariff Reality
(Image won't display on X but is int the original Sub post)
“The List”
Geopolitics: The Duran, Aurelian Substack (specific to diplomacy), Armstrong Economics blog/newsletter
Economics/Trading: Tree Rings (Luke Gromen newsletter), MacroOps newsletter, Gold Goats & Guns (Tom Luongo newsletter), Armstrong Economics blog/newsletter, Macro Edge Research (jobs and business data points)
Domestic politics: The Duran, Epoch Times, Conservative Treehouse, The President’s Daily Brief, Dark to Light with Tracy Beanz and Quite Frankly, Truth Over News Substack, Pippa’s Pen and Podcast (Substack), Armstrong Economics blog/newsletter
War/Military: SOFX Newsletter, The Duran
A few short years ago, any negative mention or even questioning of vaccines would get you blacklisted or at the very least severely deboosted on social media. Now, we have Dr. Drew and Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong (owner of the LA Times) publicly talking about the strange cancers in children and immune system issues that seem highly correlated to the vax rollouts and mandates:
x.com/Humanspective/…
Weekend Meditation:
“To throw away an honest friend, as it were, to throw your life away.”
-Sophocles
Links mentioned in the show:
Intro & outro music: Mike Amabile and Run Over Twice “Blind”
open.spotify.com/track/6SG99nL3…
Media Defamation Lawsuits Crowdfunding Link
givesendgo.com/1APMediaDefama…
Thread with Short and Long Explainer Videos About Our Lawsuits and the J6 False Narratives
x.com/RobertPLewis/s…
DOE Secretary Wright’s 9 Goals for The Golden Era of American Energy Dominance
(Image won't display on X but is int the original Sub post)
Oval Office Mugshot
(Image won't display on X but is int the original Sub post)
The Existing Tariff Reality
(Image won't display on X but is int the original Sub post)
“The List”
Geopolitics: The Duran, Aurelian Substack (specific to diplomacy), Armstrong Economics blog/newsletter
Economics/Trading: Tree Rings (Luke Gromen newsletter), MacroOps newsletter, Gold Goats & Guns (Tom Luongo newsletter), Armstrong Economics blog/newsletter, Macro Edge Research (jobs and business data points)
Domestic politics: The Duran, Epoch Times, Conservative Treehouse, The President’s Daily Brief, Dark to Light with Tracy Beanz and Quite Frankly, Truth Over News Substack, Pippa’s Pen and Podcast (Substack), Armstrong Economics blog/newsletter
War/Military: SOFX Newsletter, The Duran