Cogito, ergo sum

The week ended on April 24, 2026, interesting news items to look at for the past fortnight are:

Cogito, ergo sum: My friend’s son is a successful ophthalmologist and runs a busy clinic in Brisbane, whenever there are issues that bother him, his way to unwind was to mow the lawn up and down the street he lives on, including his neighbors’. Whilst mowing, he also verbalizes the issues he faces and conceptualizes a solution. My friend said her son was a highly strung person until he changed his routine of mowing to quietly reading his Bible. The title of this Blog is Cogito ergo sum meaning “I think, therefore I am.” A lot of the time, the issues we face are bigger than ourselves, and we do require a higher wisdom.

On Thursday night, Trump sent out 17 tweets on his Truth Social, and from 7am the next morning, he sent 4 more. Trump could not sleep because he was stressed out and alone, fighting the problems he had created without any higher wisdom. We, too, would become hysterical if we fed on a steady diet of Trump’s TACO. For my own sanity, I tend to scan more data points to form a big-picture mosaic rather than react to propaganda narratives from either side of the conflict. Below are some interesting data points for my readers to ponder.

(i) Gathering Pace of Petrol Yuen - As of March 8, 2026, the balance of RMB settlement in the Middle East crude oil trade with China reached 41%, surpassing the euro for the first time,to become the second largest settlement currency in the region, and the share of the US dollar fell to 52%. (Fig. 1).

The Dollar Hegemony is US last stronghold, and therefore its redundancy is an existential threat. On the other hand, if US achieves a choke hold over the flow of resources from the Middle East to China, China too will suffer irreversible damage to its sovereignty. Henry Kissinger once said, “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests" (Fig. 2).

This truth is equally applicable to every country. While China has repeatedly stated that she has no intention of ever becoming a hegemon or to displace US, it is obvious that US and Iran’s security concerns can never be satisfied without a third-party mediation. In a 3 step move behind the scenes, China quickened a solution to the US/Iran impasse by (a) sponsoring Pakistan to be the mediator and host cease fire talk in Islamabad.  (b) Offered to be the interim custodian of Iranian Uranium and to dilute, (Fig. 3)

and (c) sells a complete array of offensive and defensive air systems to Pakistan. (Fig. 4)

Now, the interesting part of the deal is that the entire FX reserve of Pakistan is only $20 billion and don’t tell me that Pakistan is so threatened by India that it will exhaust 60% of its FX reserve in one go. Just by coincidence, Saudi Arabia and Qatar will give Pakistan $5 billion is financial assistance. (Fig. 5).

And all this came less than 10 days after Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait refused to provide air bases to US to stage attacks against Iran, (Fig. 6).

Well folks, anyone of you want to bet a cup of Luckin coffee with me that Pakistan and the Gulf Trio is not making alternative security arrangements in the Middle East with China’s blessings. Who knows the package of 40 J-35A stealth fighters, KJ-500 AWACS, and HQ-19 missile defense systems will eventually be sited in Saudi Arabia instead. Let’s wait and see if MBS kissed Trump’s behind or placed his sandals there.   

(ii) Commander-in-Doubt - the distancing of US high-ranking military officials from their Commander-in-Chief takes a new turn when one reads the juicy tidbits leaks from the Pantagon. (a) Trump kept out of the room during operation to find downed pilots in Iran after ‘screaming’ at aides for hours, report says.(Fig. 7)

 (b) Was Donald Trump 'blocked' from using the nuclear codes against Iran? (Fig. 8)

and (c ) Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving in the latest departure of a top defense leader (Fig. 9).

Very odd indeed in the midst of a war and the just announced naval blockade against Iran.

(iii) Too Far Gone - Every month, I scan the accounts of the US Government, and there were no surprises. USS is sinking like the Titanic. The picture has been desperate; the trajectory has not changed over the past decade.  If we strip out the deceptive goobery goo speak of the Fed and the US Treasury, in 3 simple charts, everyone can understand the entire global financial system is set for a total revamp. (a) Current Account Deficit - US runs a curent account deficit of about $1.2 trillion annually and has been in deficit for 51 years. (Fig. 10).

(b) Buyers of Treasuries - Primary Dealers are stuffed with US Gov Bonds, Notes and Bills at every Treasury auction, and by Dec 2025, Treasury issuance has already exhausted the money supply M1 and the Fed started QE. (Fig. 11).

But so far, the Fed has been an unwilling banker, so PONTUS decided that US will steal and rob to fill the void. Now US$1.2 trillion annually is the GDP equivalent of a country the size of the Netherlands or Saudi Arabia, or half of Canada and for in between meals, Venezuela, Greenland and Cuba. And (c ) US Export of Non Monetary Gold - Not all plans that POTUS has in mind worked out, but bills keep on coming and what to do? Sell the family silver. (Fig. 12)

As the USS sinks, expect everyone to jump ship. The rhetoric of the US/Iran war will continue, but it will stop when people eventually stop paying attention to what POTUS says. (Fig. 13)

 

Proverbs 17:27  He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. 28  Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.