Thursday, August 27, 2026

The CBDC Ban Expires with the Economic Confidence Model in 2030


The CBDC Ban Expires with the Economic Confidence Model in 2030



The United States has become the first nation to prohibit its central bank from creating a central bank digital currency, but Congress quietly placed an expiration date on that protection. The prohibition covers both retail and intermediated CBDCs, yet it expires at the end of 2030. 

That means the door to a programmable government currency will reopen in 2031, precisely as the Economic Confidence Model reaches its major 2030 turning point.

President Trump prohibited federal agencies from pursuing a CBDC through executive order, and Congress has now reinforced that position legislatively. Nevertheless, executive orders can be reversed by the next president, and the statutory ban was deliberately written to disappear. Governments do not normally surrender power permanently. They postpone unpopular policies until the political and economic conditions make them easier to impose.

The timing is remarkable because the Economic Confidence Model has long pointed to 2030 as a profound turning point in the confidence of government. These dates are not predictions that one isolated event must occur on a specific day. They identify concentrations of political, economic, and monetary stress when capital shifts and confidence changes direction. 

The fact that Congress chose the end of 2030 for the expiration of the CBDC ban places this monetary question directly within that critical window.

A CBDC is not merely another electronic payment system. Most money already moves digitally through banks, credit cards, and payment applications. The difference is that a central bank digital currency can create a direct financial relationship between the citizen and the state. 

Depending on its design, government could gain the ability to trace transactions, impose expiration dates on money, restrict purchases, enforce negative interest rates, collect taxes automatically, or prevent funds from being transferred beyond approved limits. Physical cash provides privacy and allows people to transact when banks, governments, or computer systems fail. A programmable CBDC transforms money into a permit controlled by the issuer.

The War Cycle began accelerating in August 2026, with the next major geopolitical pressure building into 2027–2029 and a significant risk of conflict involving China appearing in 2029. This then converges with the Economic Confidence Model’s 2030.05 turning point, approximately January 18, 2030, as the Sovereign Debt Crisis intensifies. 

Congress allowed the CBDC prohibition to expire on December 31, 2030, meaning a new administration could reopen the door to programmable central-bank money beginning January 1, 2031. War increases borrowing, borrowing accelerates the debt crisis, and collapsing confidence encourages governments to impose surveillance, capital controls, and emergency financial restrictions. By the time this protection expires, the world and government as we know them may be radically altered, creating precisely the kind of crisis politicians will use to resurrect a CBDC in the name of national security and monetary stability.

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Farmers in America’s Corn Belt Face Worst Crisis in 40 Years


Farmers in America’s Corn Belt Face Worst Crisis in 40 Years, Citing Soaring Input Costs Linked to Iran Conflict


Farmers across America's Corn Belt report that they are facing their most severe economic pressure in four decades, according to an Aug. 25 report from the Financial Times (FT).

The crisis is driven by a surge in diesel and fertilizer costs, which the report attributes to geopolitical tensions stemming from the Trump administration's Iran policy. Grain producers are described as being pushed to the brink by these input cost explosions, with many facing potential default on loans and acreage reduction.

The FT report states that diesel and fertilizer costs have risen sharply, with officials and analysts linking the increase to U.S. military actions in Iran. According to the report, diesel prices have increased by more than 40 percent over the past year, while fertilizer costs have doubled in some regions.

One grower quoted in the FT report said input prices have doubled, forcing him to consider whether he can afford to plant his full acreage this season. The report also notes that the war in the Middle East has compromised the Haber-Bosch process, the chemical reaction that turns natural gas into fertilizer, threatening global agriculture. [1]

Analysts said the ripple effects of the Iran conflict have been devastating for agricultural inputs, as reported by FT. JPMorgan analyst Nora Szentivanyi warned that the next global food crisis could begin as early as next year, adding to the growing voices on institutional desks warning that food inflation is poised to re-accelerate. [2] The sharp swings in oil prices following the latest round of attacks and negotiations over safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz demonstrate that wars do not always reveal themselves first on the battlefield, according to a report by Greg Pence on Antiwar.com[3]


The crisis has led to reduced planting, lower profit margins and increased debt for Corn Belt producers, according to the Financial Times and industry observers. One Iowa farmer said current conditions resemble the farm crisis of the 1980s, per the report.

Willow Tohi of NaturalNews.com reported that a prominent Georgia farmer cut 45% of his leased acreage due to unsustainable input costs and low commodity prices, with economists warning of a severe cost-price squeeze and projected negative profits per acre for major crops like corn and soybeans. [4] The 2025 U.S. Department of AgricultureCrop Progress report indicated that only 63% of the U.S. corn crop was rated good or excellent, down 4 percentage points from the previous week because of heat and dryness. [5]

Input costs for items such as fertilizer, seed, and machinery remain near record highs, while crop revenues have fallen sharply, according to the report by Willow Tohi. [4] The financial strain has led some producers to abandon land entirely. Just 79.2 million acres of corn were harvested in 2022 – a 1.6-million-acre decline, marking the smallest overall harvest in terms of acres since 2008, according to NaturalNews.com. [6] Vandana Shiva noted that the category of "yield" fails to measure the real costs and real outputs of farming systems, as the so-called high yielding varieties of the Green Revolution are in fact high-response varieties bred for chemicals. [7]

More...


US accuses China of hacking NASA, Fed and critical infrastructure


US accuses China of hacking NASA, Fed and critical infrastructure
RT

The US has accused Chinese hackers it described as “state-backed” of breaking into NASA, the Federal Reserve and other sensitive government networks, just weeks before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump.

Beijing rejected the allegations, with the Chinese Embassy in Washington saying China “opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks” and urging the US to “stop using cybersecurity issues to smear or discredit China.”

The Justice Department and FBI announced on Wednesday that they had seized three internet domains linked to two hacking platforms allegedly operated by a Chinese group known as QTFY. US authorities claimed the operation targeted NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate and several government departments, as well as hospitals, telecommunications providers, power companies, financial institutions and defense contractors.

Washington described the campaign as Chinese state-sponsored activity and alleged that the company behind it provided hacking services to China’s Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army. However, officials did not disclose what sensitive information was allegedly stolen or what damage, if any, was caused.

The latest accusations come little more than a month after Trump similarly accused Beijing of meddling in US elections, claiming China had illicitly acquired some 220 million American voter files during the 2020 election cycle in what he called the “largest compromise” of election data in US history.

Trump himself openly acknowledged after meeting Xi in Beijing in May that Washington conducts extensive espionage against China.

“We spy like hell on them too,” Trump told reporters. “We do a lot of stuff to you that you don’t know about,” Trump claimed he had told Xi, describing the two countries’ espionage activities as a “double-edged sword.”

Massive Nepal flood kills more than 150 as water sweeps away villages (VIDEOS)


Massive Nepal flood kills more than 150 as water sweeps away villages (VIDEOS)
RT


At least 160 people are confirmed dead and hundreds missing, many of whom are tourists, while significant damage was also reported in China


A massive flash flood tore through a mountainous region in northern Nepal bordering China’s Tibet on Wednesday, killing 160 people and washing away entire villages, infrastructure project sites, and a border checkpoint with China in the Himalayas.

At least 157 people are confirmed dead and hundreds, including travelers and security personnel, are missing in Nepal. At least three bodies have been found on the Chinese side of the border. 

“Major casualties” and significant damage were also reported in China, where the Gyirong Port border checkpoint was smashed by a landslide early morning. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered “all-out efforts to search and rescue people who are missing” in the Xizang Autonomous Region.

The Nepali Tourism Board said 384 tourists are missing, 291 of whom are foreign nationals. India said more than 100 of its citizens are among the missing.

The others include 54 Americans, 17 Malaysians, 12 people from the UK, four from South Africa, and one each from Australia and the Netherlands. Also missing, it said, are 93 Nepalis, linked to nine trekking agencies. Four Russians are among the missing, Moscow’s embassy in Nepal announced later on Wednesday.

Most of those missing are pilgrims on the Kailash Mansarova Yatra, and may just be stranded and out of contact.

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Katz says IDF will remain in Syria buffer zone, warns Turkey over military presence


Katz says IDF will remain in Syria buffer zone, warns Turkey over military presence
Vered Weiss,



Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that the IDF will remain on Mount Hermon and in the security zone in Syria as long as jihadist threats persist, while also warning against Turkish actions that Israel considers a threat to its security.

“We will not move from Mount Hermon and the security zone as long as there are jihadist threats to the State of Israel,” Katz said during a visit to Mount Hermon.

Katz directed a message to the Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying the Israeli military’s presence overlooking Damascus demonstrated Israel’s determination to defend its border communities.

“The message to the president of Syria is clear — when you wake up in the morning in the palace in Damascus and look up at Mount Hermon and see the IDF, you know that we are here to defend our communities and our border,” he said.


Katz also addressed Israeli concerns about Turkey’s activities in Syria, referring to last week’s strike on a Syrian airbase.

Israel “acted against a Turkish attempt to establish itself in Syria, while putting Israel’s security interests at risk,” he said. “We made this clear and will stand by it in the future as well.”

Katz said Israeli forces positioned on Mount Hermon could observe Damascus, 35 kilometers away, as well as Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Hezbollah’s stronghold, while protecting communities in the Golan Heights and Galilee.

Syria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned Katz’s visit Tuesday as “illegal,” accusing Israel of violating international law.

“The Foreign Affairs Ministry stresses that these hostile practices constitute a blatant provocation and a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as a breach of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which requires respect for the ceasefire lines and not crossing them,” the ministry said.