Nordstream: Seymour Hersh Points Finger at the USG.

No Rude reader is surprised. Still… sunlight is the best disinfectant. [The Rude Awakening] February 09, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [Ed. note: Important housekeeping note: Coming soon, your emails will be coming from a new email address: rude@mb.paradigmpressgroup.com. Ensure delivery of every email in your subscription by following [these simple whitelisting instructions.]( Nordstream: Seymour Hersh Points Finger at the USG. - Seymour Hersh kicks off his Substack with an incredible story of USG machinations behind the Nordstream bombing. - It reads like Ian Fleming, with a heaping dose of incompetence thrown in. - And for once, the CIA was the hesitant party. There’s a first time for everything, aye? [“Biden Blackouts” coming this winter?]( [Click here to learn more]( A former advisor to the CIA and Pentagon just made this dark prediction: Calamity Joe’s sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline [His Evidence Here]( was suicide. In the next 75 days, Americans will face fuel shortages… …widespread blackouts… …empty grocery shelves… …up to $1000 energy bills… …drained retirement accounts, and… …a massive crime wave. This former CIA advisor says most Americans will suffer this winter. But a few will WIN big from the turmoil. [Here’s how to be one of them](. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from brisk Northern Italy! Yesterday was one of those great regular days. You know, when everything seems to go right. I knocked out yesterday’s piece with ease. Later in the day, I attended our weekly editorial meetings with some of the brightest minds I know. But my friend, colleague, and Daily Reckoning editor Brian Maher was missing. Brian doesn’t usually say much in meetings. But he’s always there. Not this time. We often chat via the Slack direct messaging system. So, I was happy later in the evening when his handle popped up on my phone. But it wasn’t a DM. It was a post in our editorial chatroom from the great independent journalist Seymour Hersh: [SJN] Credit: [Substack]( To paraphrase Beavis and Butthead, I had morning wood in the late afternoon. In this Rude, we’ll talk about why this is such a huge story - and see if we were right the first time we wrote about it. Who’s Seymour Hersh? At a robust 85 years old, Seymour Hersh is an American investigative journalist and political writer. He’s best known for reporting the Vietnam War and the My Lai Massacre. He also broke the Abu Ghraib prisoner torture story. Hersh has won numerous awards for his journalism, including a Pulitzer Prize. He’s widely regarded as one of the foremost investigative reporters of the 20th century… and maybe now the 21st century. Hersh has been known for his aggressive reporting style and willingness to challenge government officials and powerful institutions throughout his career. I also encourage you to read Hersh’s “[Why Substack?]( post, where he describes himself. What Happened Again? On 26 September 2022, covert bombings and subsequent underwater gas leaks occurred on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipelines. Why? According to [Hersh]( America’s political fears were real: Putin would now have an additional and much-needed major source of income, and Germany and the rest of Western Europe would become addicted to low-cost natural gas supplied by Russia—while diminishing European reliance on America. In fact, that’s exactly what happened. Many Germans saw Nord Stream 1 as part of the deliverance of former Chancellor Willy Brandt’s famed Ostpolitik theory, which would enable postwar Germany to rehabilitate itself and other European nations destroyed in World War II by, among other initiatives, utilizing cheap Russian gas to fuel a prosperous Western European market and trading economy. And what did we write earlier in the [Rude]( Let’s face it: America benefits massively from this. If you look at the Heartland Theory of Halford Mackinder, America is on the periphery right now. [SJN] Credit: [Wikipedia]( Eurasianism is on the rise. If German manufacturing married cheap Russian energy and sold those finished products to the Chinese middle class, well, you kind of don't need America anymore. And that is the main point of this argument. America is on the verge of obsolescence. It’s ironic because the very thing that allowed America to breathe and to grow in its infancy, its geographic isolation, is now its Achilles' foot. And you wouldn't think that geography matters that much in our highly interconnected world. But this version of our interconnected world is not terribly globalized and raw materials matter. So, he who has the raw materials runs the world. America, bountiful and rich with its amber waves of grain, is not the only player in town, especially when it comes to rare earths, potash, and oil. Conclusion: Europe now requires American LNG, and it keeps the US in the game. Ok, Who Did I Originally Accuse? Here’s what I wrote in the [Rude]( about the US (probably) blowing up the pipeline the day after it happened (bolds mine): US/UK/Poland(?) Here is President Biden talking about how Nordstream 2 is never going to happen if Russia invades Ukraine. [SJN] Credit: [@ABC]( Here is a video of America's Sweetheart™ Victoria Nuland, telling the world that Nordstream 2 was “one way or another” not coming online. [SJN] Credit: [@StateDept]( Here is Gonzalo Lira in this fantastic Rumble video explaining why it's actually in America's interest to blow up Nordstream 2. [SJN] Credit and click here to watch: [Rumble]( Of course, I don't know if they actually did it. But thanks to the high-level threats issued by the President and his Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, it looks like America had plans to do this. And if you want a full explanation of America’s motives, watch [this video of Condi Rice]( from back in the day. What really didn't help was Poland's former foreign minister thanking America on Twitter. He's been married for 30 years to Anne Applebaum, who is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer for The Atlantic. And a fierce Putin critic, of course. [SJN] Credit: [@radeksikorski]( It's a really bad look. Of course, the American “elite” would be high-fiving because now American LNG will have to go to Europe somehow, some way to keep the place warm. And, Norway will have to pump more gas through the pipelines into Europe. Denmark will have to do the same. Russia pretty much now is cut off from Europe. But here's the thing, Russia doesn't really care because Russia is selling oil to China and India which desperately need that oil and gas. [Japan is already buying Russian crude and gas.]( External Advertisement [The #1 Way to Hedge Against Rising Inflation]( [Click here to learn more]( It’s no secret… the price of cars, food and ammo are increasing. Some of this is due to supply chain problems, wildfires, and travel restrictions. But if you think prices will go back to 2019 levels... think again. For most goods, we’ll be lucky if they remain at the already high prices we see today. If you’re starting to see inflation, you should consider protecting your money today. [One of the best ways to hedge against inflationary pressures is to own gold.]( Owning gold is a fast, easy, and safe way to protect your money from being diluted by inflation. [Discover how you can own gold today and protect your money.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Did We Really Blow Up Our Ally’s Infrastructure with Their Blessing? I’ll admit I didn’t see this coming. According to [Hersh]( What came next was stunning. On February 7, less than three weeks before the seemingly inevitable Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden met in his White House office with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who, after some wobbling, was now firmly on the American team. At the press briefing that followed, Biden defiantly said, “If Russia invades . . . there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it. If I’ve read that correctly, the Germans were not only aware of it but supported the bombing. It’s sheer lunacy and self-sabotage. Who else? Back in Washington, planners knew they had to go to Norway. “They hated the Russians, and the Norwegian navy was full of superb sailors and divers who had generations of experience in highly profitable deep-sea oil and gas exploration,” the source said. They also could be trusted to keep the mission secret. (The Norwegians may have had other interests as well. The destruction of Nord Stream—if the Americans could pull it off—would allow Norway to sell vastly more of its own natural gas to Europe.) Ok, the Norwegians. Anyone else? The Norwegians joined the Americans in insisting that some senior officials in Denmark and Sweden had to be briefed in general terms about possible diving activity in the area. In that way, someone higher up could intervene and keep a report out of the chain of command, thus insulating the pipeline operation. “What they were told and what they knew were purposely different,” the source told me. [SJN] Credit: [Seymour Hersh]( Ok, the Swedes and Danes weren’t really involved, though I’m sure they were happy with the outcome. And I must apologize to the Poles and Brits. Apparently, they had nothing to do with this. Wrap Up. Never believe anything until it’s officially denied. And boy, has it! It appears the Americans and Norwegians teamed up with the German Chancellor to blow up Germany’s infrastructure. The Danes and Swedes were briefed but didn’t really know. And the Poles and Brits were excluded from the operation. Amazing. Thank heavens for men like Hersh… and Greenwald and Taibbi. Without them, we’d never get to the bottom of the story. Read Hersh’s entire piece when you’ve got 20 minutes free. It’s impressive. Now, Biden must face the consequences of his inability to keep the operation covert. [SJN] Have a great day! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening P.S. Watch out for the Morning Reckoning, coming to your inbox shortly. In it, I cover bailouts and bail-ins and how to avoid both. See you soon! In Case You Missed It… Biden and Powell: Two Old Men in a Hurry [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Hump Day from a suddenly freezing Piedmont! I’ll keep today’s Rude short, as much of the “news” isn’t news at all. It’s really two men praying they get to the finish line before they get found out. “Beware an old man in a hurry,” goes the old political saying. It means that when an aged man with a messiah complex hears the ticking clock, he’ll move heaven and earth to get the job done. He’ll brook no denial nor argument. Why? Because he thinks he’s the only person who can get the job done. And that describes Biden and Powell to a tee, though Powell is a decade younger. But they’ll need a lot of luck to get their jobs done. Which reminds me… New Jersey, Autumn 1988 When I was a freshman in high school, my home team of Hasbrouck Heights traveled to St. Mary’s of Rutherford to play one rainy Saturday afternoon. I don’t know why, back then, towns had this penchant for building their football fields next to rivers. I hated St. Mary’s and Bergen Tech for doing that. Because every time we played them away, I would come home covered in goose shit. You see, the geese floating in the river would take a break - and a dump - on the nice flat football field. As the pristine quarterback, my goal was to get home from every game stainless. On this day, it wasn’t meant to be. I’ll skip the details and get to the end of the game. It was 4th and a mile from our own 40-yard line with a few seconds left on the clock, and we were down by 1. My coach called a “Pro Y,” which sent the receivers long. I could barely grip the football, as my hands weren’t all that big, and the ball was covered in muddy water. I sighed and called the play in the huddle. Honestly, I thought, “There’s no way…” I called the signals and dropped back to pass. As I was about to get sacked, I shotput the muddy football over the linebackers. Then, I got “high-lowed.” That’s when two defensive players get the quarterback. One knocked my legs out from under me. The other hit me across my shoulders, sending me headfirst into a puddle of mud and goose shit. I remember it getting into my mouthpiece. Yuck! I can taste that goose shit as I write this. I rolled over, out of the puddle, and just waited for my coach to chew me out. Reluctantly, I looked up. My coach was nowhere to be seen. Confused, I searched for my teammates. They were in the end zone. My shot put found its way into Frankie Milano’s arms, and he ran 50 yards for the game-winning touchdown. I raised my arms in victory as if I meant to do that. The thing was when I threw the pass, my eyes were closed. I tell you this because I’m convinced Joe Biden and Jay Powell are hoping for the kind of luck I experienced 34 years and 100 pounds ago… Biden and His SOTU I won’t recount all the details of Biden’s nonsensical address last night. Suffice it to say, Biden creates in his head his own reality that he’s hoping becomes our actual reality. And he’s got two years (or less, if the Dems have him whacked over the classified documents) to get that done. Biden thinks he’s the “jobs president” because of the last two years. In 2021, employers added a record 6.74 million workers to nonfarm payrolls. In 2022, the economy added another 4.50 million workers. But 22 million workers were let go in the early days of the 2020 government-mandated private sector shutdown. So, I’m not sure why he’s taking a victory lap. Wages were up 5.2% in 2022. But since inflation averaged 7.1% over the same period, real wages are down. (Real = nominal minus inflation) And income inequality has risen. [SJN] Credit: [Bloomberg]( The Rich (90th percentile above) got richer, while the bottom 10% got much poorer. With numbers like these, Biden has a job to do in the next two years. As for this Fed Chair, well… [Urgent Notice From Paradigm CIO Zach Scheidt!]( [Click here to learn more]( Hi, Zach Scheidt here… I’m the Chief Income Officer at Paradigm Press. With inflation raging (and showing no signs of coming to an end any time soon), almost everyone in America is feeling the pain in a big way. Which is why, several months ago, I set out on a big mission… my goal was to create a [complete, step-by-step plan to surviving and beating inflation]( one that anyone could take advantage of. Today, after hundreds of hours of research, I’m revealing all of my findings. [Simply click here now to see how to survive America’s deadly inflation crisis](. [Click Here To Learn More]( Powell and His Remarks Again, there are no surprises here… except the market’s reaction to Powell’s remarks. Since the beginning of the hiking cycle in March 2022, Chairman Pow has told us precisely what he will do. And he’s signaling more of the same. From [The Wall Street Journal]( A government report Friday that showed hiring accelerated in January was “certainly strong—stronger than anyone I know expected,” Mr. Powell said Tuesday during a moderated discussion before the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “It kind of shows you why we think this will be a process that takes a significant period of time.” The process of lowering inflation to the Fed’s goal of 2% “is likely to take quite a bit of time. It’s not going to be, we don’t think, smooth,” Mr. Powell said. “It’s probably going to be bumpy.” The expectation that inflation “will go away quickly and painlessly…is not the base case,” he added. “The base case for me is that…we’ll have to do more rate increases, and then we’ll have to look around and see whether we’ve done enough.” From that, I take a couple of things that aren’t new. First is that the Fed isn’t done hiking. I expect another 50 bp hike at the March 21-22 FOMC meeting. Second, rates will stay elevated longer than the market admits. But that’s something we’ve expected for a while. Third, while the market is happy-go-lucky bullish now, we need to be prepared to turn around on a dime. I worry that the full force of the rate hikes hasn’t kicked in yet. [SJN] Credit: Bank of England The Bank of England thinks an official rate hike takes 9-12 months to affect total demand. And then, it takes another 9-12 months for that total demand move to affect inflation. That means the March rate hikes have only started to filter through the economy. And the rest of the hikes haven’t even started yet. Remember, companies heavily in debt will need to refinance at a higher rate soon. That may not be a pretty sight. Wrap Up Two old men are in a hurry. Two old men are relying on some luck, though they’ll never admit that. Beware the two old men by planning accordingly. Before I go: I will write about bailouts and bail-ins in tomorrow's Morning Reckoning and what you can do to avoid them. It should be in your inbox around 9 am ET. If what I’ve written today makes you worried about your cash, you ought to read it. Have a wonderful day ahead. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@rudeawakening.info. This address is for feedback only. 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