 |
| By Martin Weiss |
Two powerful supercycles …
Lurking in the shadows of government-created "prosperity" …
Kindling slowly for years behind the scenes, and …
Waiting for the slightest sparks …
Have now exploded onto the scene.
The cycle of inflation.
And the cycle of war.
Both ramping up with great speed, each feeding on the other with untold consequences.
A Ray of Hope
This morning, Ukraine and Russia were talking again ...
"Maybe," they say with cautious optimism, "this time we will make some progress."
And hopefully, this time both sides have finally crossed the invisible threshold from sheer bravado to pure pain — enough at least to help saner minds prevail.
No matter what the immediate outcome, however, three things are crystal clear in my mind, and possibly in yours as well.
First, the inflation genie is out of the bottle, accelerating just as we said it would.
Even before the latest explosion in commodity prices, the government's official measure of yearly consumer price inflation surged from 1.7% last year to 7.9% in February.
It quadrupled in just one year's time.
Second, the war cycle is also ramping up, just as we said it would, creating a contagion of fear around the world.
But it should come as no surprise to our readers.
In June of last year, we made it absolutely clear that Russia's invasion of Chechnya in 1994 and 1999, Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008 and Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 were just sneak previews of what was to come.
And today, we're sad to say we were right. But what's even more disturbing is the prospect that today's war in Ukraine might also be just a sneak preview of what's in store for other European nations.
Some former Soviet states and former members of the Warsaw Pact are now terrified of that outcome.
But the fear extends far beyond their borders ...
Sweden deeply regrets its decision, made years ago, not to join NATO.
Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, regrets its non-NATO status even more.
Folks we know in Italy, Spain and even the U.K. are not exempt from the worries.
One friend calls it his "recurring Kyiv central station nightmare."
He's at a train station. The tracks are mobbed ...
Or he's at the airport, and the lines at the ticket counters overflow outside for blocks.
There are no seats available.
It's too late to escape. He's trapped, while the world he once knew crumbles around him.
The third and most important thing I know is this: This is no place or time for fear. Instead, this is a moment to step back from the fray, analyze the facts objectively and plan practical steps for the future accordingly.
That's what my team and I are doing this week and next.
We kick it off tomorrow with an emergency meeting online. If you want to watch, be sure to check your inbox tomorrow morning for my email that provides the link. (Subject line: Emergency Zoom Call.)
Then, next Tuesday, we launch a three-day series of urgent forums (details to come). And …
Next Thursday, we wrap up with an action plan that's custom designed for this crisis.
We'll share it all with you just as soon as it's released.
Good luck and God bless!
Martin
