The one thing about Venezuelan oil that isn't being mentioned in the media is that it is of very low quality and very expensive to refine. Impractical to refine, in fact, except when the cost of oil is high enough. It is of lower quality than the tar sands crude coming out of Canada. It's so thick that it's not even particularly easy to pump out of the ground. So the cost of both extraction and refining is very high. This makes your assertion credible that it's about non-dollar sales more than the oil itself. Although, in a world running out of fossil fuels I think Venezuelan oil, and control thereof, is still valuable over time. Which explains why Putin is getting involved with advising the Maduro regime. Also FWIW -- other sources have mentioned that Marco Rubio is weirdly in thrall to some Venezuelan expats living in Florida who want regime change, despite that they don't have particularly good reputations for governance themselves.
Rubio met with Machado a while back and already have an agreement to work together (with Chevron) once Maduro is forced out. I forget the source of that information, but it sounds like something Jack Krugman would report on.
There are already refineries in Venezuela around the oil reserve that can process heavy sulpher rich crude. It maybe difficult to do, but the facilities are there to do it - except they are idle.
The crude that is being extracted right now is being shipped to China and gulf refineries in the USA that are able to process sulpher rich heavy crude.
And, the Venezuelan oil infrastructure and operations are mostly being financed by China using their currency and not the Petro dollar.
U.S. Invasion of Venezuela: Energy Market Disruption Analysis
So, the Venezuelan oil reserve is important for its location. The USA is already receiving crude from it, and an invasion won't suddenly open up the American oil market and make somebody in America rich. in fact, it may disrupt the global oil market and cause an economic crash.
And, the Petro dollar is Nixon's replacement for the gold standard, and oil trade keeps the American dollar in demand. But, in this case, the investment for Venezuela's infrastructure comes from China and Putin, using Chinese currency.
That doesn't mean the site is worthless. it is a huge military asset next to the Panama canal that can sustain a long term (like a decade long) global military conflict - either for defense, or for an agressor.
Hearing Exxon has a particular interest in Venezuela. Perhaps then it’s not just the oil, but access to the local refineries needed to process the very dirty oil?
Yeah, Exxon I think built one of the refineries. The problem is the viscosity of the Venezuelan crude. it's so thick, you can't pump it into an oil tanker. you need a crane to shovel it in. so, one thing these companies do is they breakdown the heavy crude into a synthetic crude that can be pumped into the ship. Then, in the states, Exxon removes the sulpher and processes it into Petro products. China, however, provided most of the financing for the entire Venezuela oil field.
Like Robert said, the processing is problematic and expensive. And, the US military will not engage killing people unless it's a military target or objective. although supporting the petrodollar is a plausible explanation, in this case the disruption to this oil field can destsbilize the global economy for four years.
So, whatever trumps objective is, it has to make sense to the military.. the threats China is making about tiwan and Japan, and the US military defending them would require fuel reserves in the Pacific. these could be provided from bases on the USA's west coast. but, those aren't enough if Trump is planning a global invasion like Hitler did. that's where annexing Venezuela makes sense as a military objective.
but, the US military is a defensive force. Congress has to pass a declaration of war for the US military to be an agressor.
That's why the invasion hasn't happened yet. hesgeth is now being called to account for the 80 murders, and is facing possible prison time.
If the US military invades Venezuela without Congress passing an act for the war that designates the Venezuelan oil fields as a military objective, then thousands in the military will join hesgeth.
Didn't make the connection about the dollar. Not surprising, as I've lived my life just dealing with the everyday job of managing the daily lumps and bumps and left the running of our little bubble to those who are supposed to be educated and skilled at it. The nightly news didn't seem t be alarmed at anything untoward happening with our leaders and the governing of all of us, so my little world continued to turn. How pathetic and naive was that!! But that's how these 80 years since WWII have placated us and shielded us from the realities of what was going on behind the closed doors. Then THIS happened and we all have learned that the Wizard of Oz wasn't real at all. The picture isn't rosy and wonderful anymore. Reality is screaming at us and we still seem petrified to move; well, there is some progress and some movement but it's a hard pull. Still crossing fingers that good will overcome evil, like in the movies, but I'm also looking behind the curtain at the puppeteers. Now that you, and others like you, are reporting the real news and what's behind it. Thanks again, Rosie. 🎯👌💕
We are visiting friends in England and were explaining this to them last night along with other home truths about Orange Foolius. The press has everyone here thinking he's all "America First". We disabuse them of that notion, he is only Trump First.
he certainly is. I bet if Fifa took a garbage can lid, spray painted it with gold paint, wrote with a sharpie "Trump Peace Prize" across it, and put a chain around the handle, Trump would have badly wanted to wear that too.
Just as long as it came with a certificate of authenticity that it was made just for him.
doesn't trump even award himself his own golf trophies he makes for tournaments at his own golf courses?
And look! he put farmers first by giving back $12 million dollars he took from them through his trashing of food subsidies. oh, and he made sure they were the first to be locked out of foreign markets because of his tariff programs.
And, he always makes sure that reporters are the first to know they are stupid and bad people before everybody else does.
You dropped a few decimal points there. It was $12 BILLION-with-a-B dollars, which is supposed to offset the soybean contracts that went to Argentina when China retaliated for the 145% tariffs on [insert Chinese goods here] by taking their business elsewhere. This was critical because China imports more soybeans than any other country in the world, and soybean farmers in the US depend on this contracts to stay afloat. It won't surprise you to learn that this is EXACTLY the same thing that happened LAST time we had The Great Pumpkin running the government, and he slapped heavy levies on the Chinese, only to have them shut down soybean imports and he ended up giving these same farmers the same bailout then.
It's almost like he never learns. Susan Collins will be SO disappointed.
And then? It's almost like the soybean farmers were too easy, and in order to bring the price of beef down, he fucked over the ranchers by importing beef from... anyone? That's right, Argentina! All the gauchos down on the pampas are thrilled, I'm sure, but here in the Beef Belt, they're less excited -- as you might imagine. It was just getting to the point where ranchers in Oklahoma and Texas were starting to see some economic daylight when BAM! Their Orange Jesus undercuts them and floods the zone with low priced imported beef.
THEN for reasons I cannot even fathom he piles insult on injury by sending Argentina (yes the same Argentina that made off with the soybean and beef business) a $40 BILLION BAILOUT because the only guy in the Western hemisphere with WORSE hair than Trump crashed his own economy with "austerity policies". And what did WE get out of this? Not a blessed thing so far as I can tell, but maybe Donny got a kickback or something. Or a donation to his Ballroom fund. Or some Trump Steaks.
Yeah, I thought 12 million sounded low. I got that from the radio on a news report. if farmers were begging for and even accepting scraps like that, I thought they must REALLY be desperate just to make it to the end of the week. 12 million doesn't really do much. That's like 500,000 dollars for each of 24 farms.
And, if you compare what Trump took from them, 12 million would be an insult. he might as well throw in a couple of more nickles when they objected.
So, 12 billion it is - I believe you.
And, the Argentina thing is bizarre. it's something a moron who doesn't understand math or anything else, would do randomly - with no reason. And, Trump does qualify as that type of moron.
But, we should not dismiss this so easily just because pumpkin head is one. his stupidity maybe just a smokescreen for someone else making these decisions.
so, lately, I have been engaged in transcribing a Lincoln said series. and this one is Lincoln explaining his life and why he did things the way he did.
The super bizzare thing that's becoming apparent is everything Trump has done so far is like he is following Andrew Jackson's footsteps. not vaguely - but precisely.
So, as you know, Jackson founded the Democratic party. but, he didn't really. Jefferson belonged to a Republican-Democrat party that split. one side became the Jacksonians and they called themselves the Democrats.
Jackson was a plantation oligarch and as big as an ahole as trump. you will recall before trump took over the GOP, he wanted to do everything under the Democrat banner - and they would not let him.
So, let's look at where Argentina physically is. it's the southern tip of South America where cape Horn is - very close to Antarctica. You know what's nearby in swimming distance from that?
The Falkland islands.
Yep, the same place that got invaded in 1982, and Margaret Thatcher came to the rescue. it was a ten week war.
what I remember is, all the news was the USSR did the invasion. but, I don't know why everything now says it's Argentina. And, Argentina was not an ally of Russia, so they would not have had help from the Russians.
but, that's besides the point. in 1833, when Jackson was deporting people, screwing around with the banking system, stacking SCOTUS, and keeping 50% tariffs on everything while causing hyper inflation and record bankruptcies, he also sent a warship down to invade the Falklands. Isn't that weird?
And, the same thing happened then. Argentina invaded them. britan owned them. after Jackson took them, he gave them back to Britain.
So, that area has some sort of strategic importance. in Jackson's time, the Panama canal had not been built yet. that happened 80 years later. ships had to sail down to there to get around the Americas.
the us at the time did not have a fleet to defend the area that was as big as what the British had. it maybe why Jackson handed it back to the British, because they were in a better position to protect the commercial shipping lanes.
but, today, the Panama canal has existed since 1911. nobody goes down to cape Horn anymore to go around the Americas. they go through the Panama canal. yet, the Falklands keep getting invaded. Why is that 🤨?
Well, guess what. There is another huge undeveloped oil reserve off the southern tip of Argentina, and a military base in the Falklands.
If you planned to invade the world using a navy, you would need fuel, and a way to quickly get around.
Venezuela in combination with the Panama canal does that for the northern hemisphere from both sides of North America.
but, it's useless for the south in controlling Australia and South Africa. guess where else Trump has been threatening to invade recently? Nigeria, and he doesn't like South Africa either.
So, let's say trump does invade the globe, and NATO moves missiles to Australia that can be launched over Antarctica and towards the states. Trump would not only need Greenland and Canada as buffer zones for missiles coming in over the artic, he would need Argentina for the same reason in the south.
And, to launch attacks against Africa and Australia, he would need a refueling base in the area - the Falklands.
so, could this explain the 40 billion, beef, and soybeans - along with the nickles Trump is pitching at American farmers 🤔.
I did not have this in my bingo card. Money and control for a couple of billionaires but not this. Great article, informative and well laid out. One thing I’ve learned over the years is it’s never what I appears to be. Crappy quality of oil, but still oil.
I just subscribed to your super kind level. I found your writing to be informative and I appreciate the history lesson. I did not realize the connection of oil to the dollar. so very interesting.
Both Bessent and Hassett would be familiar with the dollar value. Rubio is possible, or even good old Kushner, who has re-entered the scene. I can’t say who was the idea guy but all four would understand the oil dollar value, aren’t afraid to blur the lines of ethical and legal behavior and have a blind spot for conservative “values” (if you can call them that).
You raise a good point about who is behind the curtain. What is frightening is they have the perfect con-man in trump to front this plan. He and Hegseth are both sociopaths who won't blink twice about straight up murdering the fishermen in those boats. And everyone is already primed to believe he is blowing up the boats for unhinged, nonsensical reasons, because of all the other nonsensical unhinged behavior. Just like trumps racism totally tracks with Stephen Miller's horrifying, genocidal immigration plan. Trump is the perfect frontman foe thw behind the scenes evil.
well, you are on the right track. it is about fuel, not drugs.
The oil is around a big Lake that has brand new oil refineries around it. But, they have been built a long time ago by American companies and have been largely left unused.
That's because the USA tried to pressure the Venezuelan government a decade ago to change. so, it banned American companies from processing the crude and the refineries have largely stayed unused.
It would take three weeks to start them up again to start producing fuel.
yes, Nixon took America off the gold standard and switched it to the Petro dollar. there's a bit of history behind this.
Before the American Revolution, the 13 colonies used the British pound. after the revolution, banks issued their own denominational banknotes that were not compatible with each other.
Washington ordered Hamilton to create a federal bank where private banks could sign up as customers. they would deposit and withdrawal money for their own operations in the form of the federal bank's banknotes.
because all banks used the feds banknotes, they replaced the proprietary notes each bank had. no gold was involved yet. the only thing that happened is the script was standardized into a form everybody recognized. This bank became known as the first Bank of America.
the first bank had a 20 year charter because it was an experiment. when it expired, the private banks did not want it renewed. The reason was without it, a private bank could lock its own customers into the private bank's ecosystem. The first bank let customers easily move their bank business.
So, banks went back to the old system for a while. but, because the economy was tightly integrated by then, it was a disaster.
So, the states brought the central bank back and called it the second bank of america. still same scheme and no gold.
when Andrew Jackson became president, he wanted to expand his personal estate by buying up land and industry. so, he applied 50% tarrifs on all imports. this raised prices, and caused businesses to close.
with less places to spend money, people had a surplus of script. the remaining businesses raised their prices to capture as much script as possible. this also affected Jackson as the price of land went up.
So, he dismantled the second bank and ordered people could only use silver and gold to buy things. private banks again went back to proprietary banknotes again - except the number of notes they issued had to match the amount of gold they had.
in effect, this cancelled all the excess script that was circulating. there was no exchange offered of gold for script. people just lost their savings. That brought land prices down for Jackson to start buying property at distressed prices.
eventually, Jackson resigned before he got voted out. the gold system kept going until after Lincoln, when the second bank was brought back.
but, this time it was called the Federal reserve. and, the deposits private banks made was the gold they held under Jackson. that's how the gold standard came about which Nixon dismantled.
today, trump tried to do the same as Jackson, except with crypto currency instead of gold. there is a limit to how much crypto currency can be made (or "mined"). just like gold, both are a finite resource.
so, it's easier for Trump to do that with crypto currency than it is with Petro dollars. And, as you said, oil is traded with other currencies than American dollars. particularly between Russia and China.
the cost of Chinese goods around the world includes the price of oil in rubbles (or whatever Putin is using now - yen?)
but, fuel is still at the heart of the matter in Venezuela. the government there only has influence in the country's large cities. it's not even followed or thought about in the rural areas in rest of the country. nor, does it service them.
the fuel is a strategic asset if you wanted to wage global war and had a naval fleet to do it. the fuel affects the reach of your vessels in both the Pacific and Atlantic.
Small detail to add: those big AI factories can also put to use to mine for crypto. It takes some rewiring and reprogramming, but AI chips are very powerful, and blockchain requires a lot of memory.
Yes. You need two things to do what Jackson did: bankrupt everybody so their properties go on distress sales and create a limited finite currency most people can't get to buy everything up.
And, crypto currency fills that role in the same way rare precious metals do. Doesn't his son inlaw own a company that mines crypto currency in the middle East? and, it explains trumps obsession with creating data centers instead of power grids, for example.
as for the bankrupting part - trump already imposed tariffs and cut or eliminated many social assistance programs such as old age security, food stamps, rent subsidies, etc.
Thank you for this analysis, Rosie. It makes a lot of sense. In terms of keeping oil away from foreign currencies vs. trump wanting to play bigshot strongman, both things can be true.
“Who” do you think is pushing for this agenda? I can’t imagine Trump is intelligent enough or thoughtful enough to connect these dots, so my guess is someone or some organization is getting him to sign off on this agenda.
I know from reading this Rosie Resisters and Readers Comments on currency that I AM NOT INTELLIGENT ENOUGH OR THOUGHTFUL ENOUGH to Connect these dots...Nor figure out how the alternative to national currencies works. Bulk supplies of Precious Metals and gem stones might simplify how currency economics works for grade school show & tell, but I don't think I am the only one mystified...
Get Larry Summers and Milton Friedman our czars of the Speculative E-CON-O-my out here pronto to do their academic soft-shoe and salt or sand dance....
I've listened and watched plenty of their 3-card Monty and I know a Con when I see and hear one.
Close as I've come to grasping our Global E-CON-O-My and its currency exchanges is this dysfunctional analysis that I am able to follow and appreciate (with a few Absurdist yuks along the way, Yanis owes much to Sad Sam Beckett!
"Yanis Varoufakis: From an Economics without Capitalism to Markets without Capitalism | DiEM25
235K subscribers
696,043 views Jan 26, 2021
"A lecture organised by University of Tübingen (Germany yet in English language) economics students, delivered on Monday February 3, 2020, on the theme "From an Economics without Capitalism to Markets without Capitalism".
"Mainstream economic models lack some important features of really-existing capitalism, including money, time and space. Its models offer ideological cover for a capitalist system that has usurped competitive, free markets. "
"The result? Unbearable inequality, climate catastrophe and permanent stagnation. A fork on the road is approaching: It will take us either into deeper stagnation and environmental degradation or to a society with markets but no capitalism. Prof. Yanis Varoufakis talks about the future of our economy and the current state of economics with special regard to pluralism in economics."
"The connection to Milton Friedman is a key part of the critique":
"Summers came from a family of left-leaning economists who viewed Friedman as a "devil figure"."
"Over his career, Summers moved rightward in his economic views, eventually professing "great admiration" for Friedman and his ideas, particularly the focus on monetary policy and free markets."
"A 2006 quote from Summers stated, "Any honest Democrat will admit that we are now all Friedmanites," highlighting the widespread adoption of Friedman's principles even among liberals."
"The "failing upwards" argument suggests that Summers adopted Friedman's free-market, deregulation-focused ideas, which critics link to increased financial instability and inequality, yet he personally benefited from the political and financial system those ideas helped shape."
"In short, the phrase links Summers' continuous elite standing to the ongoing, and in the view of critics, problematic, influence of Friedman's economic orthodoxy despite perceived real-world failures of those policies."
Not sure if your explanation is correct. What the containers are there for is besides the point. The boats could be stopped and searched and the people in the boat questioned if this administration was actually interested in stopping drug trafficking. That would be the most humane and effective way to impact potential drug trafficking. Blowing them up is what you would do if you want to control the narrative in order to support your own agenda. This administration has shown they’re willing to kill to accomplish that.
Thank you 'Prof' Marsha Stickford! You should be awarded da Columbo Grungy Raincoat award for deduction and reasoning in the service of simplifying E-CON principles.
When it comes to investigating White Collar Crime and the lack of law enforcement acumen trickling down to blue collar laborers and where they turn for their family's information I am reminded of this meeting of alternative minds:
Our eyes and other detection senses so frequently and easily are distracted from those on-the-ball enough to know where (and how) to look!
I was thinking of adding an illustrative link to a Columbo TV detective show that focused on White Collar Crime.
Yet, I think better illustration on where to look and where not to look or become distracted would be a different Peter Falk role, with straight-forward metaphysical
attributes....In addition to Falk's Blue Collar listening skills proving to be even more valuable than any White Collar Crime or even metaphysical Divine Intervention-like advantages....
"When a Film Teaches You the Value of Life - Wings of Desire Analysis"
Blake Huzy
2.43K subscribers
"3,943 views May 10, 2025
"In this video about Wim Wenders' film, Wings of Desire, I analyze the themes and technical aspects that enhance the films message. Why do we live? What does it mean to be alive? Do we value life? These are all questions that the film poses to the audience, but how does it answer them? Find out in this analysis."
"This video contains excerpts of copyrighted films or media used exclusively for purposes of commentary, criticism, analysis, and educational discussion. The use of this material is transformative and falls under the principles of Fair Use as outlined in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act. No copyright infringement is intended, and the original works remain the property of their respective copyright holders."
Strong piece connecting petrodollar enforcement to the pattern of interventions. The cargo analysis (fuel cans vs drug bricks) is particuarly damning when you map it against the known trafficking routes through Mexico. What makes this especially cynical is how the fentanyl crisis is real and devastating, so weaponzing that narrative to justify unrelated geopolitical moves just poisons the well for any future legitimate drug policy discussions.
Yes, absolutely. It’s like screaming that the wrong house is on fire. It not only distracts but it keeps the real burning house from getting the attention it needs. Sickening.
Suddenly it is now clear why Trump is so dead set against wind and solar energy. This perspective has brought several pieces of the puzzle together for me. Thanks.
To answer your question, Rosie, at least for me this is new information and very illuminating. Thanks!
I figured oil was involved, but this historical explanation was very helpful, Rosie. May this rotting regime decay quickly!
The one thing about Venezuelan oil that isn't being mentioned in the media is that it is of very low quality and very expensive to refine. Impractical to refine, in fact, except when the cost of oil is high enough. It is of lower quality than the tar sands crude coming out of Canada. It's so thick that it's not even particularly easy to pump out of the ground. So the cost of both extraction and refining is very high. This makes your assertion credible that it's about non-dollar sales more than the oil itself. Although, in a world running out of fossil fuels I think Venezuelan oil, and control thereof, is still valuable over time. Which explains why Putin is getting involved with advising the Maduro regime. Also FWIW -- other sources have mentioned that Marco Rubio is weirdly in thrall to some Venezuelan expats living in Florida who want regime change, despite that they don't have particularly good reputations for governance themselves.
Yes, I’ve read the same about the oil. Haven’t heard Rubio but that tracks.
Rubio met with Machado a while back and already have an agreement to work together (with Chevron) once Maduro is forced out. I forget the source of that information, but it sounds like something Jack Krugman would report on.
So, a couple of things here:
There are already refineries in Venezuela around the oil reserve that can process heavy sulpher rich crude. It maybe difficult to do, but the facilities are there to do it - except they are idle.
The crude that is being extracted right now is being shipped to China and gulf refineries in the USA that are able to process sulpher rich heavy crude.
And, the Venezuelan oil infrastructure and operations are mostly being financed by China using their currency and not the Petro dollar.
U.S. Invasion of Venezuela: Energy Market Disruption Analysis
https://discoveryalert.com.au/venezuelan-oil-military-tensions-2025-energy-markets/
So, the Venezuelan oil reserve is important for its location. The USA is already receiving crude from it, and an invasion won't suddenly open up the American oil market and make somebody in America rich. in fact, it may disrupt the global oil market and cause an economic crash.
And, the Petro dollar is Nixon's replacement for the gold standard, and oil trade keeps the American dollar in demand. But, in this case, the investment for Venezuela's infrastructure comes from China and Putin, using Chinese currency.
That doesn't mean the site is worthless. it is a huge military asset next to the Panama canal that can sustain a long term (like a decade long) global military conflict - either for defense, or for an agressor.
Hearing Exxon has a particular interest in Venezuela. Perhaps then it’s not just the oil, but access to the local refineries needed to process the very dirty oil?
Yeah, Exxon I think built one of the refineries. The problem is the viscosity of the Venezuelan crude. it's so thick, you can't pump it into an oil tanker. you need a crane to shovel it in. so, one thing these companies do is they breakdown the heavy crude into a synthetic crude that can be pumped into the ship. Then, in the states, Exxon removes the sulpher and processes it into Petro products. China, however, provided most of the financing for the entire Venezuela oil field.
Like Robert said, the processing is problematic and expensive. And, the US military will not engage killing people unless it's a military target or objective. although supporting the petrodollar is a plausible explanation, in this case the disruption to this oil field can destsbilize the global economy for four years.
So, whatever trumps objective is, it has to make sense to the military.. the threats China is making about tiwan and Japan, and the US military defending them would require fuel reserves in the Pacific. these could be provided from bases on the USA's west coast. but, those aren't enough if Trump is planning a global invasion like Hitler did. that's where annexing Venezuela makes sense as a military objective.
but, the US military is a defensive force. Congress has to pass a declaration of war for the US military to be an agressor.
That's why the invasion hasn't happened yet. hesgeth is now being called to account for the 80 murders, and is facing possible prison time.
If the US military invades Venezuela without Congress passing an act for the war that designates the Venezuelan oil fields as a military objective, then thousands in the military will join hesgeth.
Didn't make the connection about the dollar. Not surprising, as I've lived my life just dealing with the everyday job of managing the daily lumps and bumps and left the running of our little bubble to those who are supposed to be educated and skilled at it. The nightly news didn't seem t be alarmed at anything untoward happening with our leaders and the governing of all of us, so my little world continued to turn. How pathetic and naive was that!! But that's how these 80 years since WWII have placated us and shielded us from the realities of what was going on behind the closed doors. Then THIS happened and we all have learned that the Wizard of Oz wasn't real at all. The picture isn't rosy and wonderful anymore. Reality is screaming at us and we still seem petrified to move; well, there is some progress and some movement but it's a hard pull. Still crossing fingers that good will overcome evil, like in the movies, but I'm also looking behind the curtain at the puppeteers. Now that you, and others like you, are reporting the real news and what's behind it. Thanks again, Rosie. 🎯👌💕
We are visiting friends in England and were explaining this to them last night along with other home truths about Orange Foolius. The press has everyone here thinking he's all "America First". We disabuse them of that notion, he is only Trump First.
he certainly is. I bet if Fifa took a garbage can lid, spray painted it with gold paint, wrote with a sharpie "Trump Peace Prize" across it, and put a chain around the handle, Trump would have badly wanted to wear that too.
Just as long as it came with a certificate of authenticity that it was made just for him.
doesn't trump even award himself his own golf trophies he makes for tournaments at his own golf courses?
And look! he put farmers first by giving back $12 million dollars he took from them through his trashing of food subsidies. oh, and he made sure they were the first to be locked out of foreign markets because of his tariff programs.
And, he always makes sure that reporters are the first to know they are stupid and bad people before everybody else does.
You dropped a few decimal points there. It was $12 BILLION-with-a-B dollars, which is supposed to offset the soybean contracts that went to Argentina when China retaliated for the 145% tariffs on [insert Chinese goods here] by taking their business elsewhere. This was critical because China imports more soybeans than any other country in the world, and soybean farmers in the US depend on this contracts to stay afloat. It won't surprise you to learn that this is EXACTLY the same thing that happened LAST time we had The Great Pumpkin running the government, and he slapped heavy levies on the Chinese, only to have them shut down soybean imports and he ended up giving these same farmers the same bailout then.
It's almost like he never learns. Susan Collins will be SO disappointed.
And then? It's almost like the soybean farmers were too easy, and in order to bring the price of beef down, he fucked over the ranchers by importing beef from... anyone? That's right, Argentina! All the gauchos down on the pampas are thrilled, I'm sure, but here in the Beef Belt, they're less excited -- as you might imagine. It was just getting to the point where ranchers in Oklahoma and Texas were starting to see some economic daylight when BAM! Their Orange Jesus undercuts them and floods the zone with low priced imported beef.
THEN for reasons I cannot even fathom he piles insult on injury by sending Argentina (yes the same Argentina that made off with the soybean and beef business) a $40 BILLION BAILOUT because the only guy in the Western hemisphere with WORSE hair than Trump crashed his own economy with "austerity policies". And what did WE get out of this? Not a blessed thing so far as I can tell, but maybe Donny got a kickback or something. Or a donation to his Ballroom fund. Or some Trump Steaks.
Yeah, I thought 12 million sounded low. I got that from the radio on a news report. if farmers were begging for and even accepting scraps like that, I thought they must REALLY be desperate just to make it to the end of the week. 12 million doesn't really do much. That's like 500,000 dollars for each of 24 farms.
And, if you compare what Trump took from them, 12 million would be an insult. he might as well throw in a couple of more nickles when they objected.
So, 12 billion it is - I believe you.
And, the Argentina thing is bizarre. it's something a moron who doesn't understand math or anything else, would do randomly - with no reason. And, Trump does qualify as that type of moron.
But, we should not dismiss this so easily just because pumpkin head is one. his stupidity maybe just a smokescreen for someone else making these decisions.
so, lately, I have been engaged in transcribing a Lincoln said series. and this one is Lincoln explaining his life and why he did things the way he did.
The super bizzare thing that's becoming apparent is everything Trump has done so far is like he is following Andrew Jackson's footsteps. not vaguely - but precisely.
So, as you know, Jackson founded the Democratic party. but, he didn't really. Jefferson belonged to a Republican-Democrat party that split. one side became the Jacksonians and they called themselves the Democrats.
Jackson was a plantation oligarch and as big as an ahole as trump. you will recall before trump took over the GOP, he wanted to do everything under the Democrat banner - and they would not let him.
So, let's look at where Argentina physically is. it's the southern tip of South America where cape Horn is - very close to Antarctica. You know what's nearby in swimming distance from that?
The Falkland islands.
Yep, the same place that got invaded in 1982, and Margaret Thatcher came to the rescue. it was a ten week war.
what I remember is, all the news was the USSR did the invasion. but, I don't know why everything now says it's Argentina. And, Argentina was not an ally of Russia, so they would not have had help from the Russians.
but, that's besides the point. in 1833, when Jackson was deporting people, screwing around with the banking system, stacking SCOTUS, and keeping 50% tariffs on everything while causing hyper inflation and record bankruptcies, he also sent a warship down to invade the Falklands. Isn't that weird?
And, the same thing happened then. Argentina invaded them. britan owned them. after Jackson took them, he gave them back to Britain.
So, that area has some sort of strategic importance. in Jackson's time, the Panama canal had not been built yet. that happened 80 years later. ships had to sail down to there to get around the Americas.
the us at the time did not have a fleet to defend the area that was as big as what the British had. it maybe why Jackson handed it back to the British, because they were in a better position to protect the commercial shipping lanes.
but, today, the Panama canal has existed since 1911. nobody goes down to cape Horn anymore to go around the Americas. they go through the Panama canal. yet, the Falklands keep getting invaded. Why is that 🤨?
Well, guess what. There is another huge undeveloped oil reserve off the southern tip of Argentina, and a military base in the Falklands.
If you planned to invade the world using a navy, you would need fuel, and a way to quickly get around.
Venezuela in combination with the Panama canal does that for the northern hemisphere from both sides of North America.
but, it's useless for the south in controlling Australia and South Africa. guess where else Trump has been threatening to invade recently? Nigeria, and he doesn't like South Africa either.
So, let's say trump does invade the globe, and NATO moves missiles to Australia that can be launched over Antarctica and towards the states. Trump would not only need Greenland and Canada as buffer zones for missiles coming in over the artic, he would need Argentina for the same reason in the south.
And, to launch attacks against Africa and Australia, he would need a refueling base in the area - the Falklands.
so, could this explain the 40 billion, beef, and soybeans - along with the nickles Trump is pitching at American farmers 🤔.
I did not have this in my bingo card. Money and control for a couple of billionaires but not this. Great article, informative and well laid out. One thing I’ve learned over the years is it’s never what I appears to be. Crappy quality of oil, but still oil.
I just subscribed to your super kind level. I found your writing to be informative and I appreciate the history lesson. I did not realize the connection of oil to the dollar. so very interesting.
Who in this administration is smart enough to understand what you’ve described here.
Who are the unnamed actor behind the scheme.
I for one do not believe Pete Hegseth or DJ T is smart enough to understand this for one minute.
So who are the people we need to look for.
Jack Dunn
Both Bessent and Hassett would be familiar with the dollar value. Rubio is possible, or even good old Kushner, who has re-entered the scene. I can’t say who was the idea guy but all four would understand the oil dollar value, aren’t afraid to blur the lines of ethical and legal behavior and have a blind spot for conservative “values” (if you can call them that).
You raise a good point about who is behind the curtain. What is frightening is they have the perfect con-man in trump to front this plan. He and Hegseth are both sociopaths who won't blink twice about straight up murdering the fishermen in those boats. And everyone is already primed to believe he is blowing up the boats for unhinged, nonsensical reasons, because of all the other nonsensical unhinged behavior. Just like trumps racism totally tracks with Stephen Miller's horrifying, genocidal immigration plan. Trump is the perfect frontman foe thw behind the scenes evil.
well, you are on the right track. it is about fuel, not drugs.
The oil is around a big Lake that has brand new oil refineries around it. But, they have been built a long time ago by American companies and have been largely left unused.
That's because the USA tried to pressure the Venezuelan government a decade ago to change. so, it banned American companies from processing the crude and the refineries have largely stayed unused.
It would take three weeks to start them up again to start producing fuel.
yes, Nixon took America off the gold standard and switched it to the Petro dollar. there's a bit of history behind this.
Before the American Revolution, the 13 colonies used the British pound. after the revolution, banks issued their own denominational banknotes that were not compatible with each other.
Washington ordered Hamilton to create a federal bank where private banks could sign up as customers. they would deposit and withdrawal money for their own operations in the form of the federal bank's banknotes.
because all banks used the feds banknotes, they replaced the proprietary notes each bank had. no gold was involved yet. the only thing that happened is the script was standardized into a form everybody recognized. This bank became known as the first Bank of America.
the first bank had a 20 year charter because it was an experiment. when it expired, the private banks did not want it renewed. The reason was without it, a private bank could lock its own customers into the private bank's ecosystem. The first bank let customers easily move their bank business.
So, banks went back to the old system for a while. but, because the economy was tightly integrated by then, it was a disaster.
So, the states brought the central bank back and called it the second bank of america. still same scheme and no gold.
when Andrew Jackson became president, he wanted to expand his personal estate by buying up land and industry. so, he applied 50% tarrifs on all imports. this raised prices, and caused businesses to close.
with less places to spend money, people had a surplus of script. the remaining businesses raised their prices to capture as much script as possible. this also affected Jackson as the price of land went up.
So, he dismantled the second bank and ordered people could only use silver and gold to buy things. private banks again went back to proprietary banknotes again - except the number of notes they issued had to match the amount of gold they had.
in effect, this cancelled all the excess script that was circulating. there was no exchange offered of gold for script. people just lost their savings. That brought land prices down for Jackson to start buying property at distressed prices.
eventually, Jackson resigned before he got voted out. the gold system kept going until after Lincoln, when the second bank was brought back.
but, this time it was called the Federal reserve. and, the deposits private banks made was the gold they held under Jackson. that's how the gold standard came about which Nixon dismantled.
today, trump tried to do the same as Jackson, except with crypto currency instead of gold. there is a limit to how much crypto currency can be made (or "mined"). just like gold, both are a finite resource.
so, it's easier for Trump to do that with crypto currency than it is with Petro dollars. And, as you said, oil is traded with other currencies than American dollars. particularly between Russia and China.
the cost of Chinese goods around the world includes the price of oil in rubbles (or whatever Putin is using now - yen?)
but, fuel is still at the heart of the matter in Venezuela. the government there only has influence in the country's large cities. it's not even followed or thought about in the rural areas in rest of the country. nor, does it service them.
the fuel is a strategic asset if you wanted to wage global war and had a naval fleet to do it. the fuel affects the reach of your vessels in both the Pacific and Atlantic.
Small detail to add: those big AI factories can also put to use to mine for crypto. It takes some rewiring and reprogramming, but AI chips are very powerful, and blockchain requires a lot of memory.
Yes. You need two things to do what Jackson did: bankrupt everybody so their properties go on distress sales and create a limited finite currency most people can't get to buy everything up.
And, crypto currency fills that role in the same way rare precious metals do. Doesn't his son inlaw own a company that mines crypto currency in the middle East? and, it explains trumps obsession with creating data centers instead of power grids, for example.
as for the bankrupting part - trump already imposed tariffs and cut or eliminated many social assistance programs such as old age security, food stamps, rent subsidies, etc.
Maria Machado
She's no champion for democracy.
Thank you for this analysis, Rosie. It makes a lot of sense. In terms of keeping oil away from foreign currencies vs. trump wanting to play bigshot strongman, both things can be true.
Yes, absolutely. I think that’s why it fits so nicely into Trump’s (and Hegseth’s) playbook. Carry a big stick and pretend it’s something it’s not.
“Who” do you think is pushing for this agenda? I can’t imagine Trump is intelligent enough or thoughtful enough to connect these dots, so my guess is someone or some organization is getting him to sign off on this agenda.
I know from reading this Rosie Resisters and Readers Comments on currency that I AM NOT INTELLIGENT ENOUGH OR THOUGHTFUL ENOUGH to Connect these dots...Nor figure out how the alternative to national currencies works. Bulk supplies of Precious Metals and gem stones might simplify how currency economics works for grade school show & tell, but I don't think I am the only one mystified...
Get Larry Summers and Milton Friedman our czars of the Speculative E-CON-O-my out here pronto to do their academic soft-shoe and salt or sand dance....
I've listened and watched plenty of their 3-card Monty and I know a Con when I see and hear one.
Close as I've come to grasping our Global E-CON-O-My and its currency exchanges is this dysfunctional analysis that I am able to follow and appreciate (with a few Absurdist yuks along the way, Yanis owes much to Sad Sam Beckett!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aK4OztueuE
"Yanis Varoufakis: From an Economics without Capitalism to Markets without Capitalism | DiEM25
235K subscribers
696,043 views Jan 26, 2021
"A lecture organised by University of Tübingen (Germany yet in English language) economics students, delivered on Monday February 3, 2020, on the theme "From an Economics without Capitalism to Markets without Capitalism".
"Mainstream economic models lack some important features of really-existing capitalism, including money, time and space. Its models offer ideological cover for a capitalist system that has usurped competitive, free markets. "
"The result? Unbearable inequality, climate catastrophe and permanent stagnation. A fork on the road is approaching: It will take us either into deeper stagnation and environmental degradation or to a society with markets but no capitalism. Prof. Yanis Varoufakis talks about the future of our economy and the current state of economics with special regard to pluralism in economics."
Source: https://timms.uni-tuebingen.de/tp/UT_...
https://www.chronicle.com/article/larry-summers-and-the-subversion-of-economics/
https://www.google.com/search?q=Summers+Milton+Friedman+failing+upwards&rlz=1C1RNRC_enUS511US572&oq=Summers+Milton+Friedman+failing+upwards+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRirAjIHCAUQIRirAjIHCAYQIRirAtIBCTIwMTUxajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
"The connection to Milton Friedman is a key part of the critique":
"Summers came from a family of left-leaning economists who viewed Friedman as a "devil figure"."
"Over his career, Summers moved rightward in his economic views, eventually professing "great admiration" for Friedman and his ideas, particularly the focus on monetary policy and free markets."
"A 2006 quote from Summers stated, "Any honest Democrat will admit that we are now all Friedmanites," highlighting the widespread adoption of Friedman's principles even among liberals."
"The "failing upwards" argument suggests that Summers adopted Friedman's free-market, deregulation-focused ideas, which critics link to increased financial instability and inequality, yet he personally benefited from the political and financial system those ideas helped shape."
"In short, the phrase links Summers' continuous elite standing to the ongoing, and in the view of critics, problematic, influence of Friedman's economic orthodoxy despite perceived real-world failures of those policies."
https://prospect.org/2020/07/13/falling-upward-larry-summers/
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/anat-admati-milton-friedman-justice
Tio Mitchito
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of A-Tone-ment Seekers)
Media Discussion List\Looksee
Not sure if your explanation is correct. What the containers are there for is besides the point. The boats could be stopped and searched and the people in the boat questioned if this administration was actually interested in stopping drug trafficking. That would be the most humane and effective way to impact potential drug trafficking. Blowing them up is what you would do if you want to control the narrative in order to support your own agenda. This administration has shown they’re willing to kill to accomplish that.
Thank you 'Prof' Marsha Stickford! You should be awarded da Columbo Grungy Raincoat award for deduction and reasoning in the service of simplifying E-CON principles.
When it comes to investigating White Collar Crime and the lack of law enforcement acumen trickling down to blue collar laborers and where they turn for their family's information I am reminded of this meeting of alternative minds:
https://theintercept.com/2019/03/01/surveillance-capitalism-book-shoshana-zuboff-naomi-klein/
Our eyes and other detection senses so frequently and easily are distracted from those on-the-ball enough to know where (and how) to look!
I was thinking of adding an illustrative link to a Columbo TV detective show that focused on White Collar Crime.
Yet, I think better illustration on where to look and where not to look or become distracted would be a different Peter Falk role, with straight-forward metaphysical
attributes....In addition to Falk's Blue Collar listening skills proving to be even more valuable than any White Collar Crime or even metaphysical Divine Intervention-like advantages....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fp6n7oW33s
"When a Film Teaches You the Value of Life - Wings of Desire Analysis"
Blake Huzy
2.43K subscribers
"3,943 views May 10, 2025
"In this video about Wim Wenders' film, Wings of Desire, I analyze the themes and technical aspects that enhance the films message. Why do we live? What does it mean to be alive? Do we value life? These are all questions that the film poses to the audience, but how does it answer them? Find out in this analysis."
"This video contains excerpts of copyrighted films or media used exclusively for purposes of commentary, criticism, analysis, and educational discussion. The use of this material is transformative and falls under the principles of Fair Use as outlined in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act. No copyright infringement is intended, and the original works remain the property of their respective copyright holders."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVwzG9WOUBA
Opening Night (1977) - Peter Falk talks about John Cassavetes
with Gena Rowlands in scene from "Opening Night"
Health and balance to ya & yours,
Keep on doing!
Appreciatively,
Tio Mitchito
Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers
Lay-Low Studio, Ore-Wa (Refuge of A-Tone-ment Seekers)
Media Discussion List\Looksee
Fascinating, Rosie! I didn’t realize how this all fit together! Many thanks.
Strong piece connecting petrodollar enforcement to the pattern of interventions. The cargo analysis (fuel cans vs drug bricks) is particuarly damning when you map it against the known trafficking routes through Mexico. What makes this especially cynical is how the fentanyl crisis is real and devastating, so weaponzing that narrative to justify unrelated geopolitical moves just poisons the well for any future legitimate drug policy discussions.
Yes, absolutely. It’s like screaming that the wrong house is on fire. It not only distracts but it keeps the real burning house from getting the attention it needs. Sickening.
Suddenly it is now clear why Trump is so dead set against wind and solar energy. This perspective has brought several pieces of the puzzle together for me. Thanks.