Thou Shalt Not Steal

The USG and UKG stole Russian assets. Now, China won’t sell the US certain metals and the UK is shutting down more bank accounts. [The Rude Awakening] July 10, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Thou Shalt Not Steal - This follows up Friday’s Rude about gallium and germanium. - The USG is indignant the Chinese government won’t sell its stuff. - This is why weaponizing the dollar and stealing Russian assets was such a bad idea. [Are you worried about “Biden Bucks”?]( Don’t be. All you need to protect yourself and your money is this secret gold investment you see in my hands here. [Click here to learn more]( This new alternative gold currency is the perfect way for you to sidestep “Biden Bucks” while preserving your wealth at the same time. To show you how it works, I just recorded a [quick 2-minute video]( walking you through all of the details… [Just click here now for all of the details.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Monday! On Saturday, I was sitting in Fabrizio’s café drinking my Lavazza and flicking through my Twitter feed. It was bright, sunny, and serene, as I waited for Pam and Micah to meet me for breakfast and a stroll through the weekend markets. Inevitably, Karine-Jean Pierre came up on my feed, moaning about China. KJP is the White House Press Secretary. Oddly enough, she has the same passing acquaintance with the English language as her boss does. Now that I think about it, that’s almost certainly why they hired her. She couldn’t muster up a straight denial of Hunter’s Colombian marching powder showing up in the White House. But boy, she was happy to lay into the Chinese! Let’s jump right into it. The Hypocrisy I can’t stand America’s hypocrisy. When Americans seize assets and refuse to sell goods to other countries and sanction them, it’s punishment by a valid leader of the free world. (And when the UK mindlessly follows them, it’s worse. But more on that later.) But when other countries want to sanction the United States and not sell them stuff, it’s economic warfare. This is a huge reason why the Global South wants to break away from the United States and the Washington Consensus to join the BRICS community. The Global South is literally praying on their hands and knees that BRICS come up with something cogent and sustainable so they can get out of the palm of Western hands. And there was always a danger this situation would arise. I Told Them So From an earlier Rude titled “[What Sanctions Accomplish]( Those Countries That Can Will Fight Back Sure, the US can push around Iraq, Iran, and many South American countries. But Russia is another kettle of fish altogether. After 30 years of suffering at the hands of US sanctions, or worse, [US academics]( Russia has had enough. Russia’s National Wealth Fund is its sovereign wealth fund. A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned [investment fund]( that invests in tangible and financial assets such as [stocks]( [bonds]( real estate, and [precious metals]( or alternative investments such as [private equity funds]( or [hedge funds](. The National Wealth Fund will cut its share of dollar assets to zero from 35%. The $186 billion fund will then keep most of its assets in euros, yuan, and gold. To be perfectly frank, this will not crash the dollar. The fund is one of the smaller sovereign wealth funds on the planet. If you count the funds or the countries, Russia has the 10th largest stash of national wealth in an SWF. For instance, Norway’s SWF, the Government Pension Fund, has over $1.1 trillion in its coffers. That’s about 10x what Russia has. But it’s still a blow struck in the name of freedom. You read that right; Russia is fighting US dollar oppression. But this was just the start. Watching this video in which [Putin bragged about how sanctions made the Russians use their brains]( is insightful. And if you doubt Putin’s word - I don’t blame you for that - that sanctions helped Russia become the world’s number one wheat exporter, have a look at this chart from [Progressive Farmer]( [SJN] Russia never built helicopter and marine engines before. It does now. And while it doesn’t dominate the world stage, watch this video (with the captions on) to see [Putin brag]( about how the ruble is now more stable because they’re not just an oil and gas country anymore. These sanctions aren’t fit for purpose. No sanctions are. I wrote that back in June 2021. [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]( “But We’re Better Pirates!” Cries the UK! I voted out for Brexit. I still think it was the right move. And though you’ll see panicking Remoaners all over Twitter, the EU has done absolutely nothing for me to think being a Brexiteer was the wrong way to go. You may or may not know of Nigel Farage. He’s the UK‘s biggest populist, and probably the most important politician in the United Kingdom since Margaret Thatcher. If it were not for him, Britain would still be in the EU. There’s no doubt about it. Recently, Coutts, a fancy private bank in the UK owned by Natwest, which is just the new name for the disgraced Royal Bank of Scotland, which was bailed out by Her Majesty‘s government back in 2008, decided to close Farage’s accounts. Without bank accounts, you’re pretty much a non-person in any country in the world. But this is the greatest example of this piracy gone mad. You would’ve read newspaper articles a couple years ago, saying things like, “London is ready to surpass Zurich for private banking services.” The UK was seen as an equal to Switzerland before this whole mess began, and I was very happy for England. I thought it was a great thing and it just partially justified for me that Brexit wouldn’t hurt London as a financial center. But you know what hurts financial centers? Seizing assets! The UK has gone just as crazy as the United States in seizing Russian assets. And now they have gone about seizing and closing the accounts of UK citizens. Apparently Nigel Farage is only one of these victims. Get this: a woman named Alexandra Tolstoy, descendant of Leo, who was married to a Russian oligarch, has had her bank account shut down. She is not a politically exposed person. She owns a business. Yes, her former husband is Russian, but he’s lived in Monaco for many years and hasn’t even sent her child support. Now her bank decided to shut her account down. It’s demagoguery gone mad. I didn’t think London would lose its place as the world’s largest financial center in my lifetime. But if this behavior continues, within the next ten years London will be a financial backwater. Wrap Up By the time you read this, I’ll be on the plane to New York City. I’ll be there for two weeks teaching. In the meantime, I hope the U.S. and UK come to their senses and get a new playbook. This plan has backfired completely. Have a great week ahead! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… China Curbs Metal Exports to U.S. [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Happy Friday! I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon because I have a lot of free time between now and when my taxi picks us up to take us to the airport. My good friend and Rude contributor Byron King made a lot of interesting contributions to this week’s editorial meeting. Byron brought up that China had curbed exports of germanium and gallium to the United States. As you know, Byron is a Harvard-trained geologist and all-around fountain of knowledge. I didn’t even know what gallium and geranium were until he mentioned it. I was frantically typing away while we were on the call to figure out what gallium and germanium are. But I got some answers for you and that’s going to be the subject of today’s Rude. There are many things that Americans don’t understand about the products they buy. One of those things how much of the periodic table actually goes into these products. I’m one of those people who is still ignorant about issues of geological import, and I’m grateful to people like Byron who educate me about this. In turn, I’m going to do my best to make you aware of these metals so when you hear of shortages, you can make smart investing decisions on the back of them. Let’s get rolling… What happened? The Chinese government said it will impose export restrictions from August 1, 2023, on some gallium and germanium products to protect its national security. What are those and why are they so important? What’s gallium? Gallium is a soft, silvery metal at standard temperature and pressure, but melts at slightly above room temperature. That makes it one of the few metals that can be liquefied by heat from the human body. No wonder it’s not used to make chastity belts! Gallium is used in electronics because it can easily produce a high electron mobility at room temperature. What’s high electron mobility, you ask? The higher the electron mobility, the faster the electrons can move, and therefore, the faster the current can change. This means that devices can switch on and off more quickly, which is crucial for high-speed electronics such as microprocessors and for not annoying consumers. Additionally, higher electron mobility leads to lower power consumption. When electrons move easily, less energy is required to maintain a given current, leading to more energy-efficient devices. This is paramount in battery-powered devices where energy use needs to be minimized to prolong battery life. Materials with high electron mobility often operate at higher frequencies, enabling advanced technologies such as high-frequency radar and satellite communication systems. [Inside the SHOCKING Plan to “TURN OFF” Your Money…]( [Click here to learn more]( In a despicable, under-the-radar move… The government could soon force you to adopt a new “trackable” version of the U.S. dollar… One that eliminates cash… And gives them the power to legally “TURN OFF” your money… Whenever they feel like it… And with ZERO warning! Thankfully, there are 4 easy-to-follow steps you can take RIGHT NOW to protect yourself… And even potentially GROW your wealth no matter what the government does. [Click here NOW to learn more about these 4 critical steps while you still can](. [Click Here To Learn More]( What are gallium’s top five uses? Pretty much everything The Left want to run the world with. Here are a few examples: - Semiconductors: Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) are widely used in electronic devices including mobile phones, satellite communication systems, and high-speed microelectronics. - Light-emitting diodes (LEDs): Gallium is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of light-emitting diodes and diode lasers. - Solar panels: Gallium Arsenide is used in high-efficiency solar panels. Its properties make it excellent for concentrated photovoltaics and space-based solar arrays. - Medical Applications: Gallium's low melting point allows it to be used in some medical thermometers as a non-toxic replacement for mercury. - Alloys: Gallium is also used in some alloys to lower their melting points. It's often used in research and development settings for this purpose. The [Critical Raw Metals Alliance says]( only a few companies - one in Europe and the rest in Japan and China - can make gallium at the required purity. Which countries are the top five gallium producers? From [Reuters]( China exported 94 metric tons of gallium in 2022, up 25% on the prior year, according to Chinese customs. Small amounts of gallium - around 10 metric tons in 2021 - are produced by Japan, Russia and South Korea, according to USGS. Germany and Kazakhstan also produced it in the past. What’s germanium? Germanium is a hard, lustrous, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors silicon and tin. Germanium is not found as a free element in nature; it's often found in minerals combined with other elements, and is extracted as a byproduct of zinc ore processing as well as from the fly ash of certain types of coal. What’s fly ash, you ask? Fly ash is a byproduct of coal combustion, primarily in electric power plants. It's composed of tiny, spherical particles rich in silica, alumina, and calcium. These particles are carried up with flue gases during combustion, hence the name "fly ash." What are germanium’s top five uses? Again, these uses are important for old tech and new: Fiber-Optic Systems: Germanium is used in fiber-optic cables as an optical amplifier. It helps transmit light over long distances without signal degradation. Infrared Optics: Germanium is transparent to infrared light and is often used in infrared cameras, sensors, and other infrared optical equipment. Semiconductors: Germanium was one of the first materials used to develop transistors for electronics because it is a good semiconductor. It is still used in some electronic devices. Solar Cells: Some high-efficiency solar cells use germanium as the substrate onto which the solar layers are deposited. Catalysts: Germanium is used in certain types of catalysts in the chemical industry. Which countries are the top five germanium producers? According to the [CRMA]( - China (produces around 60% of the world's germanium) - Canada - Finland - Russia - United States Does the US really want to remove the most important seller from these two incredibly important markets? Or be removed from them? Wrap Up This tit-for-tat trade sanctioning is starting to look like a full-on divorce. The West and the BRICS are heading for an expensive showdown… and we all know who’s footing the bill. We are! I don’t know what the answer is, or if there is an answer anymore. But what’s clear is the BRICS and the Global South will not stand by idly in a trade war. They’ll fire shots. And some will hit. In any event, have a great weekend! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Twitter: [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. 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