Free Republic

Central bank digital currencies can push the world away from depending on the U.S. dollar, the organization said. . The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a handbook for global central banks regarding the development and implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The IMF’s “Central Bank Digital Currency Virtual Handbook” published last week pointed out that the increased use of CBDCs can “reduce dollarization” of the global economy—a situation where countries move away from relying on the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. De-dollarization would push up borrowing costs in the United States, making loans expensive for businesses and individuals,...

Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr is calling the Biden administration's "digital equity" plan for all internet services and infrastructure an "unlawful power grab." Biden’s plan hands the Administrative State effective control of all Internet services and infrastructure in the country. Never before, in the roughly 40-year history of the public Internet, has the FCC (or any federal agency for that matter) claimed this degree of control over it. Indeed, Biden’s plan calls for the FCC to apply a far-reaching set of government controls that the agency has not applied to any technology in the modern era, including Title II...

Our freedom to roam is under assault from a plan to close everything off and make us ask permission before we enjoy it.. There is a plan underway to close the great open spaces of the American West to you, me, our children, and our children’s children. The federal government — which owns most of this land — is determined to move from a “use and let use” system of accessing Western public lands to a permission-based system that will mean reservations, permits, and closures. Just last month, the Bureau of Land Management issued a final decision to close 317...

Everyone knows that the US government is bankrupt and has been for many years. Whenever the chattering classes talk about cuts, it’s only about cuts over the course of 10 years. Which is a dodge, a fraud. Partly because most of the supposed cuts will be scheduled for the end of the period, but also because new programs, new emergencies and hidden contingencies are guaranteed to creep in, offsetting any announced cuts. The anticipated $2 trillion deficit for 2024 isn’t a temporary worst case; it’s the rosiest possible scenario. People thought I was joking when, asked how bad the Greater...

International Man: In parts of California and other states, shoplifting under $950 has been de-facto decriminalized. The practical reality is that thieves can now walk into a store and steal whatever they can without fear of police intervening—as long as it’s under $950. The trend of de-facto legalization of shoplifting is spreading across the country. What is your take? Doug Casey: The rise in crime in general and the veritable legalization of shoplifting, in particular, are really just symptoms. The real problem is that the moral fabric of the US and many other Western countries are torn. There’s not much...

International Man: With nearly $10 trillion in assets under management (AUM), BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager. The company exploded in size after the 2008 financial crisis, and that’s no coincidence. Central banks around the world have printed scores of trillions since then. A significant portion of that freshly created money eventually found its way into the stock market, specifically BlackRock’s exchange-traded funds (ETFs). BlackRock was also responsible for helping the Federal Reserve manage its massive debt portfolio after 2008. It’s another indication of BlackRock’s cozy relationship with the government. BlackRock is a good illustration of the Cantillon Effect—those...

While investments in renewable energy have doubled since 2010, power grid funding has remained ‘static.’.. Electricity grid capacity available in the world isn't keeping pace with the rapid growth of "clean energy" technologies, possibly putting governments' climate goals at risk, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). In order to achieve climate goals set by global governments, more than 80 million kilometers (49.7 million miles) of electric grids have to be added or refurbished by 2040, which is the “equivalent of the entire existing global grid,” according to the Oct. 17 IEA report. Even though “electrification...

The UN’s latest report on global hunger shows we are moving backwards. At least 828 million people went hungry one way or another on a daily basis last year. The prices of wheat and other crops have increased exponentially. People’s purchasing power is diminishing. We’re getting poorer, so we’re eating less. A war against farmers has emerged, threatening to push them off the land they’ve farmed for generations. Those in control of the land control the food supply and, along with it, the people. Much of this threat is cloaked under Agenda 2030, which they are attempting to impose across...

Do you feel as if everywhere you turn something else is pushing the United States closer to the brink? You’d be right. It’s by design. Called “the Cloward-Piven Strategy,” our nation is being thrust into the center of every kind of disaster, expeditiously, by whoever it actually is that is running the show. The ultimate process is to “speed-up the destruction of our economy by overwhelming it.” The goal is to foist us into an economic crisis leading to the collapse of the United States as well as capitalism. A two-class system will then rise out of the ashes –...

Jacinda Ardern may no longer be Prime Minister of New Zealand, but she was back at the United Nations continuing her call for international censorship. Ardern is now one of the leading anti-free speech figures in the world and continues to draw support from political and academic establishments. In her latest attack on free speech, Ardean declared free speech as a virtual weapon of war. She is demanding that the world join her in battling free speech as part of its own war against “misinformation” and “disinformation.” Her views, of course, were not only enthusiastically embraced by authoritarian countries, but...

By 2030, the European Union expects 80% of its citizens to opt for a digital passport.. For the first time, a nation is allowing travelers to cross its border with a digital passport on their smartphone instead of a physical passport. While the trial is happening in Finland, the European Union wants at least 80% of citizens in the 27-country bloc to be using a digital ID by 2030. The pilot program, which started at the end of August, is available only to Finnish citizens. It is running at Helsinki Airport as a partnership between Finnair, airport operator Finavia and...

California cities are losing local control as state-mandated housing to battle what officials call the state’s “housing crisis” sweeps the Golden State, experts say, with some afraid of losing their small-town feel. The state’s housing department requires local jurisdictions every eight years to plan for housing, including that which is deemed “affordable” sold at or below market rate, as part of what’s known as a Housing Element. Of concern to some is that squeezing in high-density affordable housing may not suit every city the same. Sebastopol—an apple farming town of 7,500 people in Northern California east of Santa Rosa—is just...

The mRNA pioneer's reluctant conclusion came during a speech at the recent 2023 White Coat Summit. In a speech at the 2023 White Coat Summit, Dr. Robert Malone asked the crucial question about the so-called COVID vaccines: “Why would a government wish to advance this technology?” His reluctant conclusion is that the novel mRNA injections have been developed by the CIA to assist in a global depopulation program – which has existed in the United States since the 1970s. Following the scientist .. Dr. Malone was one of the pioneers of the technology which led to the development of the...

Some energy industry groups are expressing concern that the White House will declare a COVID-19-like emergency—but for the climate instead. "They're leaning to that direction," U.S. Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart told Just the News in an article published on July 30. "If you grant the president's emergency powers to declare a climate emergency, it's just like COVID.” An emergency declaration on the climate could give the president “vast and unchecked authority to shut down everything from communications to infrastructure," said Mr. Stewart, who has been a critic of the Biden administration. Infrastructure around water and electricity could...

Central bank digital currencies are feverishly being developed all over the globe, and this is something that should deeply alarm all of us. For a moment, I would like for you to imagine a world where the government instantly knows whenever you buy or sell something. No transaction would ever be truly private, not even your most personal or embarrassing ones. In addition, your money would not be truly your own under such a system. Your access to the digital currency system would be a privilege which could potentially be suspended or revoked with the click of a mouse. All...

The Fed is becoming quite crafty when it comes to digital currency. They’re aware that it’s not popular, mainly because Americans are wary about handing control of their finances over to a government that could cut them off with a flick of a switch. So, in typical globalist fashion, they plan to “coax” you into using it by introducing the infrastructure as an option they know you’ll love. That’s precisely what they’re doing as we speak with this new FedNow program. This payment system, recently rolled out by the Federal Reserve, sets the foundation for the US government to essentially...

The service is returning to its roots as an island-hopping tornado to face off against Russia and China. The U.S. Marine Corps is in the process of reinventing itself to deal with future threats . . . and future budgets. The service is concentrating on island and littoral missions, and going lighter and more mobile as a result. The plan, Force Design 2030, aims to make the Corps an indispensable tool in America’s toolbox. The U.S. Marine Corps is undergoing its biggest reorganization in decades, slimming down and chopping weapon systems, such as tanks and howitzers, in an effort to...

Ah, the elitists at the World Economic Forum are at it again, telling Americans what they can eat and what they can wear. The official song of Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum is “Tomorrow Belongs To Me!” The World Economic Forum has declared that by 2030 fashion will become completely obsolete and all humans will be vegan, whether they like it or not. Despite the fact that NASA has admitted that global warming is due to earth’s proximity to the sun in its elipse, not due to carbon emissions. But hell, there is no money in that. But...

The United Nations (UN) is planning to introduce a global digital ID system that is linked to individuals’ bank accounts. The plan, which is similar to the system developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), is outlined in three new policy briefs from the UN titled, “A Global Digital Compact, Reforms to the International Financial Architecture, and The Future of Outer Space Governance.” The goal of the briefs is to advance UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s “vision for the future.” Officially titled “Our Common Agenda,” Guterres’ “vision” should be given the green light in September 2024 during an event dubbed, “The...

International Man: In practically every country, the allowable limit for cash withdrawals and transactions continues to be lowered. Further, rampant currency debasement is lowering the real value of these ridiculous limits. Why are governments so intent on phasing out cash? What is really behind this coordinated effort? Doug Casey: Let me draw your attention to three truths that my friend Nick Giambruno has pointed out about money in bank accounts. #1. The money isn’t really yours. You’re just another unsecured creditor if the bank goes bust. #2. The money isn’t actually there. It’s been lent out to borrowers who are...