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Only $500 Billion?So, the Europeans should be asking for $700 billion in Rare Earth, right?<figure id="figure-2g1r6t5a6pm70b47j0"><img id="2g1r6t5a6pm70b47j0" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/1vkYI3SXbDyYvVgegTkeu3oNeNBVv3g714gBdxVTlawjRa8NvKo1iGPC4dCTbdOX.png" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-lg md:rounded-xl lg:rounded-2xl" style="aspect-ratio: 3/2; object-position: 15% 0%;" data-corners="medium" data-aspect="3:2" data-caption="" data-positionx="15%" data-positiony="0%" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/1vkYI3SXbDyYvVgegTkeu3oNeNBVv3g714gBdxVTlawjRa8NvKo1iGPC4dCTbdOX.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 3/2; object-position: 15% 0%;"></figure>Via Politico Europe<a data-mce-href="https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-demands-500b-in-rare-earths-from-ukraine-for-support/" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-demands-500b-in-rare-earths-from-ukraine-for-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump demands $500B in rare earths from Ukraine for continued support</a>

Dear Earth

“That could be an interesting problem because it could be that a lot of those things don’t count,” he said. “Therefore, maybe we have less debt than we thought of.”A lot of “what” things don't count?&nbsp;If he means debt issued to pay for 'things' that DOGE somehow finds fraudulent, he's sort of implying that that debt will be cancelled.&nbsp;Not great for bondholders as means a type of selective US default.&nbsp;Via Bloomberg News reporting on Trump's comments on Sunday 9 Feb '25 on Air Force One<a data-mce-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-09/trump-suggests-musk-found-irregularities-in-us-treasuries" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-09/trump-suggests-musk-found-irregularities-in-us-treasuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Suggests Musk Effort at Treasury Found Irregularities</a>

Bond Thieves

Informed comment, and more, on speculation the US Treasury would revalue to the market the 8,133 metric tons/261 million troy ounces of gold that they hold and currently marked at just $42 per ounce.Via <a data-mce-href="https://www.ft.com/gillian-tett" href="https://www.ft.com/gillian-tett" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gillian Tett</a> writing in the <a data-mce-href="https://www.ft.com" href="https://www.ft.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Financial Times</a> <a data-mce-href="https://www.ft.com/content/f6459ed1-8a65-4d89-8bd8-40e8546912f0" href="https://www.ft.com/content/f6459ed1-8a65-4d89-8bd8-40e8546912f0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gold glitters as the unimaginable becomes imaginable</a> What could go wrong? And why wouldn't they all do it?

The Gold Baby

"...what we’re seeing is what you’d expect if China and Russia had somehow managed to install people who wanted to sabotage America’s international position at the highest levels of the U.S. government"<a data-mce-href="https://paulkrugman.substack.com/" href="https://paulkrugman.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Paul Krugman</a> in Substack 10 February 2025<a data-mce-href="https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/sabotaging-the-pax-americana" href="https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/sabotaging-the-pax-americana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sabotaging the Pax Americana&nbsp;</a>

Debilis Americana

To date, one of the few US publications that has not given in to sane washing or T-Kissing, is <a data-mce-href="https://www.wired.com/" href="https://www.wired.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wired Magazine</a>.Witness its posts under the <a data-mce-href="https://www.wired.com/tag/elon-musk/" href="https://www.wired.com/tag/elon-musk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Musk Takeover'</a>.Watch it closely for any change, as it's the canary in MAGA pit.

The Wired Canary.

<figure id="figure-aeywbkgu1am6wlqxhw"><img id="aeywbkgu1am6wlqxhw" src="https://cdn.durable.co/covers/16wDQa9SG7l1OrKrrVJQLQICTkPdjXMAT1QDz2AskEQLzQlSQTTnGzXCXL2xWDSJ.jpg" alt="" title="" class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-lg md:rounded-xl lg:rounded-2xl" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; object-position: center center;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="16:9" data-caption="" data-positionX="undefined" data-positionY="undefined" data-fullWidth="false"/></figure>No comment necessary.Via <a data-mce-href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/cartoon-tag/zapiro/" href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/cartoon-tag/zapiro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ZIPRO</a> in <a data-mce-href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Maverick</a>

Latest Quotes

Dear Earth

Bond Thieves

The Gold Baby

Debilis Americana

The Wired Canary.

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