Geopolitics – Blog•Murasama•net

U.S. Sends 10,000 More Troops to Middle East

Murasama — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:51:13 +0000

Remember, the Moron in Chief declared “we’ve won” (this war) many times now. We’ve won so many times that we need to send even more troops to the region. We’ve won so hard that the Strait of Hormuz is mostly closed except for the ones paying the toll and approved by the IRGC. We’ve won so bigly that we needed to add our own blockade of the strait.

Anyone with a functioning brain will be able to discern that this makes no logical sense, that if there were an actual functional Congress that didn’t have a bunch of nonfunctional politicians in the Republican majority, they could end this nonsense right away.

Billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on this war he started in conjunction with Israel (and trying to blame Iran entirely on) versus helping actual American’s like this idiot said he would, that many dumbass American’s believed when they voted for him (I didn’t).

And there are still dumbass American’s who believe the garbage that comes out from their dear leader.

Mar 3: “We won the war.”

Mar 7: “We defeated Iran.”

Mar 9: “We must attack Iran.”

Mar 9: “The war is ending almost completely, and very beautifully.”

Mar 11: “You never like to say too ⁠early you won. We won. In the first hour it was over.”

Mar 12: “We did win, but we haven’t won completely yet.”

Mar 13: “We won the war.”

Mar 14: “Please help us.”

Mar 15: “If you don’t help us, I will certainly remember it.”

Mar 16: “Actually, we don’t need any help at all.”

Mar 16: “I was just testing to see who’s listening to me.”

Mar 16: “If NATO doesn’t help, they will suffer something very bad.”

Mar 17: “We neither need nor want NATO’s help.”

Mar 17: “I don’t need Congressional approval to withdraw from NATO.”

Mar 18: “Our allies must cooperate in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.”

Mar 19: “US allies need to get a grip – step up and help open the Strait of Hormuz.”

Mar 20: “NATO are cowards.”

Mar 21: “The Strait of Hormuz must be protected by the countries that use it. We don’t use it, we don’t need to open it.”

Mar 22: “This is the last time. I will give Iran 48 hours. Open the strait”

Mar 22: “Iran is Dead”

Mar 23: “We had very good and productive talks with Iran.”

Mar 24: “We’re making progress.”

Mar 24: “[Iran] gave us a present and the ⁠present arrived today, and it was a very big present, worth a tremendous amount of money.”

Mar 25: “They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.”

Mar 26: “Make a deal, or we’ll just keep blowing them away.”

Mar 27: “We don’t have to be there for NATO.”

Mar 29: Claimed talks were progressing

Mar 30: “Open the Strait of Hormuz immediately, or face devastating consequences.”

Mar 31: Claimed a deal was “very close” and that Iran would “do the right thing”

Apr 1: “We’ll see what happens very soon.”

Apr 2: Repeated that a deal was likely, while warning of continued strikes if not

Apr 2: “The straight will open up naturally”

Apr 3: “Something big is going to happen.”

Apr 4: Said Iran must comply “immediately” or face further consequences.

Apr 5: “Open the fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

Apr 6: Said Tuesday deadline to make a deal with Iran is final.

Apr 7: A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.

Any other sane democracy would remove their leader for lying this much and causing global economic damage. But not the U.S., the so called self-described and now very DELUSIONAL claim of being the “greatest country in the world”. Like every other piece of decades long propaganda imposed on its citizens, this is just another grand lie for those haven’t yet done so, to UNLEARN and call out.

This isn’t me being disloyal and unpatriotic. That again is propaganda fed to us by the government. This is me calling out the real treasonous traitors that are committing acts of terrorism who are now running the United States and not fulfilling their oath of office.

Added to this chaos, the president is feuding with the Pope while the equally idiotic vice president is trying to school the Pope on theology. You cannot make this stuff up. And the long braindead FOX News watching boomer crowd actually believes this gaslighting. I feel sorry for those whose parents are so far gone down the stupid hole where they can no longer have any sort of relationship with them.

I’m not even religious, but I’m siding with Pope Leo on this one because he’s the one speaking truth to power compared to the “leaders of the so-called free world” that constantly lie.

This American regime fails to understand their opposition in Iran to the point where it’s going to end up backfiring big time on the U.S. (and Israel for what they’ve been doing).

Wall Street = In Denial

Murasama — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:39:34 +0000

History repeating itself as usual. These folks are just sociopaths and will trade on everything just to make money in the moment. The stock market trades on emotion/sentiment and all they are doing is normalizing the psychotic delusions of an American president that is negotiating with himself and putting out lies to the public regarding most everything.

Right now, Wall Street market makers (aka market manipulators) are promoting hope instead of fear (because they also know the AI bubble is eventually going to start its deflation leading to that fear driven market — thus the need to find reasons to pump the market up and sell high to suckers who buy into this rally).

In pushing the market to even higher levels though, all that does is provide this ongoing permission structure of market manipulation at the expense of actual market visibility (which has been FUBAR with the “liberation day” tariffs since 2025). The ones who get hurt in the end are of course the regular people (retirement accounts, IRA’s, 401k’s, etc) and/or the ones foolish enough to invest in this market by purchasing into the highs while the smart money is dumping their positions in order to lock in actual profits (classic pump and dump).

I’ve remained transparent about my sell orders with AAPL (my largest holdings). The only thing I’m doing is constantly increasing the quantity in those orders (aka decreasing the amounts I am willing to hold) based on ongoing factors/current events. And I’m also hedging into gold since I expect the purchasing power of the USD to be eroded/devalued significantly as the United States becomes isolated by its actions. Again, the disclaimer applies.

I have no crystal ball on this market though and would like to be 100% wrong on this.

Anti-war Protests Grow in Japan

Murasama — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:28:56 +0000

While protests in Japan seem rare, they do happen. Some in smaller numbers while others that are much larger. Protests regarding the U.S. military base in Okinawa has been an ongoing thing, the Narita airport protests by farmers who objected to having to give up/sell their ancestral lands for the runway constructions has been ongoing since 1966 (the Sanrizuka Struggle 三里塚闘争), while the anti-nuclear power ones drew considerable sized crowds after the 2011 triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami, and Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant meltdown).

Recently, protests have broke out (especially in Tokyo) against Prime Minister Takaichi’s remarks about using military force in Taiwan should a blockade by China take place (the protests were about the prime minister taking a pro-war stance which would also bring the country into wider conflict with China). Back in November 2025, several hundred protested in Okinawa.

Non self-defense military action is a very highly charged/sensitive topic issue in Japan given its past militarism which included war crimes across Asia. After Japan surrendered in 1945, its pacifist constitution (written in part by the United States) allowed for an armed forces that was in self-defense only. I have my own personal opinions on this because of the geopolitical realignment that is most likely going to happen (resulting from the U.S. becoming this unreliable partner where more countries are simply making their own partnerships with BRICS countries including China).

Japan’s constitution means it is heavily reliant on the U.S. for military support beyond that self-defense role. And that is a problem which isn’t easily solved unless Japan changes its constitution. That itself is full of potential issues because you need very competent and principled politicians to insure that the country will not go off into an uncontrolled offensively capable military. At the same time, Japan’s ability to self-govern itself completely in this rapidly changing world/geopolitics, represents a conundrum.

In March, additional protests took place in Tokyo to protest Takaichi’s visit to the United State to meet with the POTUS. The most recent protests have happened after the war in Iran escalated with 24,000 railing against the war and then just last week, 30,000 rallying outside the National Diet Building; besides the anti-war angle, both also were in protest of Takaichi’s February remarks about revising the Constitution (Article 9) which could allow the country to build up an offensive capable military.

With the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Takaichi has once again pushed the Constitutional overhaul angle. In light of the “civilization will end tonight” threat by the POTUS, this one now represents a serious catch-22. The U.S. has unserious/unqualified people in the chain of command. This includes a military that is being purged of qualified officers where actual operational damage is being done. Once the ranks of the U.S. military are filled with loyalists (ones no longer bound by international law and the rules of engagement), is Japan’s national security really going to be safe by being reliant on a partner that is no longer allied with the rest of free world?

At the same time, I have no idea as to what level of competence exists in this new right-leaning Japanese government (except that it is much more competent than what exists in Washington D.C.). I’m not sure if the average Japanese protesting this understands what exactly is happening in the U.S. either (and how that could be problematic for Japan if they do not gain a sembelance of their own autonomy from things written back in 1945 that may no longer be in the countries best interests (that includes being self-sufficient in terms of its own military capabilities while ensuring there are constraints in place to prevent a rogue leader from pushing Japan back into imperialism again). This topic isn’t an easy one given the current geopolitical climate and backsliding of democracy in the U.S.

In relation to the yet to be felt global energy shock, post-2011, nuclear power became a touchy issue in the country; 54 power plants went offline for inspections and to address safety issues (including ones that were covered up by falsified safety records). The country has been reliant on mainly fossil fuels with natural gas (34%) and coal (32%); various forms of renewable energy (solar, wind, and hydro) make up a much lower total percentages for its energy needs and as of 2024, only 10% was from nuclear via plants that were in operation.

With 2011 and the Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster fading in most peoples memories, the government has been looking to restart some of these long idle power plants again to being those energy prices back down. The largest (Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Niigata) was restarted in January amidst protest by local residents. Now with this conflict in the Middle East, any competent leader of a country should have a clear understanding of the incoming global energy shock that is about to occur and the domino effect it will have on everything (price increases and shortages in materials and even food supplies). At that point, I can see the resistance to restarting more nuclear power plants falling away.

This obviously does not address fuel prices for vehicle and air transportation. I believe the latter (jet fuel costs) is about to get ugly and that is going to have that domino effect on the travel/tourism industry worldwide. I don’t mean to sound like a doomer… but this is what the situation is realistically looking like while most are kind of oblivious to just how bad things can get in the next several months.

Unfortunately, many regular people aren’t even paying attention (nor really have a solid grasp on the dominoes that will fall should this situation continue for several more weeks). It can end quickly if both Israel and the United States stopped their military aggressions in the region. The Israeli government has signaled they aren’t interested in that (their objective is genocide and annexing territories including that of neighboring Lebanon). The first diplomatic talks in years between the two countries in years is likely not going to be favorable for Lebanon (since everything is being brokered through the U.S. which itself is aligned and captured by Israeli interests).

The financial markets are in complete denial as well. Like this being one of them. I’ve read some really bad takes (that some of these moves are pricing in the conflict being settled real soon). And if the HFT algorithms are being dialed in to discount more of these ridiculous statements being put out by the POTUS, then all I can write at the moment is “look out below”. China has been very calculated and measured in their responses so far. But the potential for a misstep on the U.S. side with its military blockade does represent a potential for escalation.

Chinese president Xi Jinping did put out this statement though about the “global order crumbling into disarray” because he knows the global economy is about to go through some things which China has exposure to (basically, everyone gets hurt by this war that was started by both Israel and the United States while negotiating in bad faith from the very start).

The Japanese protesting this war is a good thing because everything happening in the Middle East, will eventually affect the country as well with higher prices. And that is a major problem for a country that has been wage stagnant for decades. The government needs to see/hear that people definitely do not want Japan to become involved in any part of that conflict. I could keep going on about this topic but my self-imposed time limits (on spending too much of it on politics/geopolitical issues) keep popping up.

Bank of France “Repatriates” Its Gold Out of the United States

Murasama — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:32:52 +0000

France found a novel way to get its gold reserves that were located in the U.S. back into their own country by selling that gold in New York (when the spot price had reached a high water mark), and then repurchased it back in France during a period when the spot price came back down again, resulting in a 8.1 billlion EUR profit (approximately $15 billion). As the article noted:

The Bank of France did not try to raise the issue of withdrawal or transfer of their gold. Instead, they simply sold the older, less pure gold bars in New York for what they were worth in U.S. dollars as gold prices were reaching all-time highs, then pocketed the cash and bought bars that met their updated weight and purity standards in Europe, as prices conveniently pulled back.

The other important benefit of this move is these newer gold bars are up to modern technical certification standards (verifying things like their authenticity, quality, purity, and weight). And that is how France framed it (as a technical modernization of their reserves).

In the world of numismatics, grading services (like ANACS, NGC, PCGS to name a few) were long established in order to help facilitate the authenticity and grading of both paper and coin currency for collectors. The majority of the gold coinage that I’ve collected have been graded via these services (including ones using PCGS’ newer Gold Shield). Examples at the end.

The larger gold bars purchased by governments are similarly certified (plus newer bars have been created with higher purity and accurate weights). This move by France has geopolitical weight (pun somewhat intended) because it signifies a trend where the world’s leading economies are increasingly viewing physical gold not just as a financial asset, but as essential “National Security Infrastructure” that must be kept within reach within their territorial borders.

Various countries have long held gold reserves in the U.S. (at the Federal Reserve) since it was considered safe; the days of the United States being a reliable partner are long over especially under this chaotic, criminal, and incompetent Trump regime. More countries like Germany are looking at this as being less than safe since there is always the possibility that those assets could be frozen and seized without any legal basis (the Iran war has exemplified this where our own regime will lie to justify their law breaking actions).

Furthermore, when the POTUS is mentioning “taking their oil”, what’s to stop this thief from doing the same with the gold reserves for other countries that are stored with the Federal Reserve? Simply withdrawing those reserves seems to be proving not as easy based on Germany’s attempts to repatriate their gold (the article mentioned they were even denied access to inspect their gold back in 2012).

The geopolitical situation in the Middle East with the Strait of Hormuz highlights another shift as well. The tankers that are making it through and paying the tolls to Iran, are doing so in either Chinese Yuan or stablecoin currencies including ironically, Trump Coins (this latter one is psychologically humorous because it telegraphs how he’s paying for it at the expense of everyone else). Whose to say that gold backed assets of some sort may not eventually make a return (and be used as a reserve currency)?

Regardless, the days of oil reserves being paid for in the U.S. Dollar are over as well which of course also means the days of the U.S. Dollar being the world’s reserve currency, is also going to be coming to an end. And once this gains momentum, the decoupling will happen elsewhere including the financial markets where much of it is arbitraged against the USD. A devalued/destabilized dollar will really hit the US economy and households hard (not to mention having that global impact). In short, many people have no idea what is coming down the pipeline in terms of economic catastrophe.

This destabilization has long been the goal of the likes of Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and David Sacks (he is the regime’s crypto and AI czar; the original position was abolished in March 2026 but he remains serving in the same capacity in another role in PCAST); these three are known as the PayPal mafia. By destabilizing the USD in this manner, their main objective is to be able to use that to promote cryptocurrency as a viable global replacement instead of a single countries currency. Naturally, all three have long had their hands in various crypto schemes (as do many others in positions of power in the current U.S. government) in order to be the largest profiteers.

WLFI is a crypto firm backed by the Trump family as well as Steve Witkoff’s sons Alex and Zach. Witkoff is the special envoy to the Middle East. See the self dealing and corruption? Another thing is this backdoor “kill switch”; if true, that means they can literally lock people out where they can also lose access to their tokens. When this technology is in the hands of criminals, it allows all sorts of money laundering and pilfering schemes which have little accountability (plus the regulatory environment for crypto in the U.S. has been purposely kept lacking because the criminals are the ones with the keys to the vault/getting in the way of proper legislation).

Additionally, China had other things in mind; they of course used their influence with Iran in the current situation with the Strait to have the Yuan used along with crypto (in the form of stablecoins). This is why I previously mentioned about “pulling up a front row seat” in terms of watching the United States willingly drive itself off the cliff (because anyone can easily watch this empire and hegemony coming to an end with all of these recent incompetent moves against Iran). When you don’t understand and underestimate your opponent, it ends up becoming a self-owning prophecy.

As for countries looking to repatriate their gold out of the U.S. it’s only one area where this loss of trust will manifest itself. This will spill over into business dealings and anything that requires a close partnership. This loss of trust will not be easy to build back up (likely not in my lifetime).

Tangent from earlier: Slabbed gold coinage that have been certified and graded:

Geopolitics – Blog•Murasama•net

U.S. Sends 10,000 More Troops to Middle East

Wall Street = In Denial

Anti-war Protests Grow in Japan

Bank of France “Repatriates” Its Gold Out of the United States

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