Google Co-Founder Among Billionaires Subpoenaed in Jeffrey Epstein Case

Billionaires Sergey Brin, Thomas Pritzker, Mortimer Zuckerman and Michael Ovitz were issued subpoenas this week by the US Virgin Islands as part of its lawsuit against JPMorgan over the bank's relationship with now-deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The subpoenas seek any communications or documents related to JPMorgan and Epstein. JPMorgan is being sued by the US Virgin Islands along with several Epstein accusers in a combined case over Epstein's sex trafficking operation. The plaintiffs claim that the bank facilitated abuse by allowing Epstein to remain a client while helping send money to his victims. The lawsuit also alleges that JPMorgan turned a blind eye to Epstein's activities after receiving referrals for high-value business opportunities.

Is the War in Syria Intensifying? U.S. Carrier Strike Group Deployment Extended as U.S. Troops Suffer “Brain Injuries”

America's resolve to hang on to oil fields in Syria that former President Donald Trump seized in 2019 seems to be intensifying as the U.S. military has extended the deployment of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group, which has been under NATO command since last year, and is currently in the Mediterranean Sea. The George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group replaced the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group in the Mediterranean Sea last year. We reported on the original deployment of Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group to the Mediterranean Sea under NATO command last year, because it marked the first time that U.S. Navy forces based in Norfolk, Virginia were being commanded by a non-American as part of NATO. This followed the annexation of the U.S. Naval base by NATO in 2021, even though the base is on U.S. soil. It is also now being reported that some American troops in Syria are suffering from "traumatic brain injuries" after recent attacks in Syria. This is not the first time U.S. troops based in the Middle East have suffered from these types of "traumatic brain injuries." In 2020, American troops stationed in Al Asad Air Base in Iraq came under attack when Iran launched 15 ballistic missiles on the base in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force military branch. Troops there also suffered "traumatic brain injuries," but then President Donald Trump and others refused to acknowledge the injuries for over two years. This latest round of conflicts in Syria follows major announcements in the rapidly changing geopolitical makeup of the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia has put aside decades of conflict with Iran and has also agreed to start selling oil to China in China's currency, rather than U.S. dollars. Turkey is another major player in the Middle Eastern oil conflicts, and they just announced this week that they were closing down their pipeline pumping oil out of Iraq due to ongoing conflicts with the Kurds in northern Iraq. This action by Turkey has allegedly taken 450,000 barrels per day of crude exports out of the market. The American Empire is crumbling, as is their control of Middle Eastern oil.

China And Brazil Strike Deal To Ditch The US Dollar

According to the Brazilian government, China and Brazil have reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the United States dollar as an intermediary entirely, AFP reported. The deal, Beijing’s latest salvo against the almighty greenback, will enable China, the top rival to US economic hegemony, and Brazil, the biggest economy in Latin America, to conduct their massive trade which amounts to $150 billion per year, and financial transactions directly, exchanging yuan for reais and vice versa instead of going through the US dollar. In doing so China extends its bilateral, USD-exempting currency arrangements beyond countries such as Russia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to now include the Latin American exporting powerhouse.

No Fooling: The End of “Private Banking” Starts Today with Bank Enrollments in the New FedNow Program

The first week of April, 2023 marks the beginning of the enrollment and certification process for financial institutions to start participating in the Federal Reserve's new FedNow "Instant Payments" services, which is scheduled to launch in July, 2023. While many in the alternative media (myself included) have linked the FedNow program to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), technically speaking, FedNow is NOT part of the development of CBDCs. Michelle Bateman, Director of Product Management, Payments at Finastra, is a member of FedNow’s pilot program, and she has stated that the project to develop CBDCs is completely separate from the FedNow Instant Payment service. The main difference is that once CBDCs are rolled out, consumers will have accounts with a Federal Reserve Bank, while the FedNow program does not. The FedNow program will be offering "Master Accounts" at the Federal Reserve for financial institutions only. However, as I have previously stated, rolling out CBDCs is a mammoth project, and cannot be done overnight. It would be foolish to not believe that the FedNow program is not a stepping stone towards CBCDs. As you can see from the flow chart at the top of this article, with the implementation of the FedNow Instant transfer program, all the data involving a financial transaction between two "End-Users" will flow through the Federal Reserve banks. So while they are advertising the FedNow program as a new system that will make payments and wire transfers much quicker and much more convenient, it is also a mass data collection system for the Fed to begin storing private bank information. Will this include all the personal details of account holders in private banks?

All the Many Ways Big Tech is Selling Your Data to the Government Who is Spying on Americans without Warrants

I am not going to cover the RESTRICT Act proposed legislation regarding TikTok, since just about everyone else in the alternative and right-wing corporate media seems to be covering that story, but I am going to highlight some of the many ways the U.S. Government already purchases data from Big Tech and spies on American citizens, illegally, without a warrant. These articles are from the Cyber Vice topic, a great source of information on the darker side of Tech.

Second Wave of Bank Runs Start – Demise of the U.S. Dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency Accelerates

It's been over a week now since a bank has failed, but according to multiple sources, that does not mean that the banking crisis is over. In fact, many sources are reporting that bank runs are continuing, with a "second wave" of bank runs now going on. As we have previously reported, these modern-day bank runs are not always as noticeable today in the digital era, as you don't typically see people lining up at the banks to physically withdraw their money, as it all happens on the Internet. And while today depositors are rushing into Money Market accounts, once the smaller banks start failing again, expect to see more money exit bank accounts, such as into the FedNow CBDC accounts scheduled to come online this summer, as well as into commodities such as Gold and Silver. The rest of the world is, of course, noticing this, and some are beginning to trade with currencies other than the U.S. Dollar.

Will CBDC FedNow Put Regional and Smaller Banks Out of Business this Summer?

The failures of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and the current struggles of First Republic and Pacific West Bank have seen bank deposits flee to the perceived safety of large banks. To make matters worse for banks, rising interest rates and easily accessible higher yielding alternatives exist like money market funds (MMF) or US Treasury ETFs. These alternatives are now a few thumb taps and swipes away from depositors, making the near-zero rate of return on bank deposits much less attractive for many consumers and businesses. These issues, plus the new FedNow service which is set to begin trial runs in July, could represent an uphill battle for banks to retain deposits. The Federal Reserve’s new FedNow program will allow bank customers at 10,000 financial institutions to instantaneously transfer funds in and out of bank accounts on a 24/7/365 basis. This is probably the biggest innovation since mobile banking and investment apps and will allow customers greater access to "their" money than ever before.

NATIONAL CATASTROPHE! California Farmers Suffering Record Losses from Flooding as “Worst is Yet to Come”

With the threat of a World War 3 escalation into a nuclear conflict, while the world's financial system is on the brink of collapse, it is easy to see why a local, regional news story about the weather will not make national headlines. But there is a local, regional story developing in California that I guarantee will eventually make national headline news, as the flooding continues with more heavy rain and snow this week, and with local officials declaring that in terms of the flooding and damage, "the worst is yet to come." With California producing over half of America's agriculture, this is indeed HUGE news, as this is also going to affect food prices around the world, since many of California's agricultural products, a $51 BILLION economy, are exported outside the U.S. The main reason this is not a major worldwide headline, yet, is because there are still very few estimates as to how high the losses are going to be, since the farming community in California is just trying to survive right now, bracing for new storms that entered the State yesterday and are continuing today. Total financial losses for the State of California due to flooding that began in January, right now range from $5 BILLION to $30 BILLION.

Saudi Arabia’s Biggest Oil Producer Will Build $10BN Petrochemical Complex in China – Are the Days of Ishmael Upon Us?

There are very few people in the western media, both corporate and alternative, who seem to fully understand the significance of the announcement this week that Saudi Arabia's largest oil company, Aramco, is investing $BILLIONS in China's growing petrochemical industry. Aramco was originally the name for the "Arabian American Oil Company," founded by the Standard Oil Co. of California (Chevron) in 1933, when the government of Saudi Arabia granted it a concession. Other U.S. companies joined after oil was found near Dhahran in 1938. In 1973, the Saudi government bought a 25% interest in Aramco, increasing that interest to 60% the following year. In 1980, the Saudi government increased its interest in Aramco to 100%. Eight years later, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (now renamed Saudi Aramco) was officially established. I worked in Dhahran in the early to mid 1990s, teaching English at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. It is a huge university with around 10,000 students, and the entire curriculum is taught in English, hence the need for many English teachers. But as large as the campus in Dhahran is, it is quite small compared to the Aramco company compound directly next to the University. We had many American (and Filipino) friends at Aramco back then, and often visited them at the Aramco compound. Driving into the Aramco compound was like driving into the suburbs of a modern U.S. city, where you could literally find all the same comforts you could find in the U.S., even though you were out in the middle of a desert. Even the women there drove cars at that time, while outside the compound, it was forbidden (at that time). Back in the 1990s, Americans still mostly ran the company, as they transitioned to Saudi management and more members of the board of directors came from the Saudis. But things are very different today, as this announcement of investing in China clearly demonstrates. Gone is the respect for the Rockefeller oil industry and their puppet politicians, as recent comedy skits produced by Saudis mocking Joe Biden clearly show. So are the days of Ishmael here, and the fulfillment of God's promises and prophecies made thousands of years ago to bless Ishmael?

Is the Collapse of NATO Imminent? A Non-Western Dire Warning

It is difficult for those of us currently residing in the United States to get an accurate account about how the war in Ukraine is actually going, as it depends on which sources you read and trust. I don't think it can be disputed, however, that the economy of NATO nations is in serious trouble with massive bank runs and failures, and massive demonstrations in many countries with the country of France literally burning and basically shut down, while non-NATO countries such as Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, are already on the road to economic recovery as they band together to oppose the ongoing wars and economic sanctions funded by the Davos Crowd. For a non-Western perspective on what is basically the beginning stages of World War 3 as it unfolds before us in real time today, I am publishing a commentary by Sam Parker of Behind the News Network entitled "The Demise of Nato." Consider this commentary as a "worse case scenario," as Parker believes that Russia absolutely has the power to destroy the United States, even without launching nuclear weapons, by bombing key infrastructures, like they are currently doing in Ukraine. He writes: "Few people – including CIA operatives – may know that New York City, for instance, may be destroyed with a single move by blowing up the George Washington Bridge. The city can’t be supplied with food and most of its requirements without the bridge. The New York City electrical grid can be destroyed by knocking out the central controls; putting it back together could take a year. America is fragile. We don’t notice because it works smoothly and because when a local catastrophe occurs—earthquake, hurricane, and tornado—the rest of the country steps in to remedy things. The country can handle normal and regional catastrophes. But nuclear war is neither normal nor regional. Very few warheads would serve to wreck the United States beyond recovery for decades. This should be clear to anyone who actually thinks about it. Defense is impossible. Coastal cities are particularly easy targets, being vulnerable to submarine-launched sea-skimming missiles – Washington, New York, Boston, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle for starters – all gone. A modern country is a system of systems of systems, interdependent and interconnected—water, electricity, manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, transportation, pipelines, and complex supply chains. These are interconnected, interdependent, and rely on large numbers of trained people showing up for work. Talking of repair any time soon after the nuclear bombing of a city is foolish because the city would have many hundreds of thousands of dead, housing destroyed, massive fires, horrendously burned people with no hope of medical care, and in general populations too focused on staying alive to worry about abstractions like supply chains."