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Wednesday, September 30, 2026

"How Are Things Going, Joe?"

“You go up to a man, and you say, “How are things going, Joe?” and he says, “Oh fine, fine… couldn’t be better.” And you look into his eyes, and you see things really couldn’t be much worse. When you get right down to it, everybody’s having a perfectly lousy time of it, and I mean everybody. And the hell of it is, nothing seems to help much.”
- Kurt Vonnegut

George Carlin, "The Big Club"

Full screen recommended.
Very strong language alert!
George Carlin, "The Big Club"
"It's a Big Club, and you ain't in it. 
You and I are not in the Big Club."
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Rude, crude and absolutely, undeniably true...
Full screen recommended.
Very strong language alert!
George Carlin,
"Life Is Worth Losing - Dumb Americans"
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"A Time Is Coming..."

 

"All Hell Set To Break Loose by the End of September"

"All Hell Set To Break Loose by the End of September"
by Pepe Escobar

Window of Supreme Risk: 
September 30 to November 3. West Asia is about to burn.

"The sociopath President of the United States completely disregarded the Chinese solution to end the Iran drama, presented in person at the White House by President Xi Jinping this past Thursday. Essentially, Xi told Trump that the off-ramp is right in front of him: go back to the serially killed dead cat, the memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed and then blown up by Trump. China, said Xi, is ready to fully support this return to diplomacy. Predictably, the sociopath refuted not only Xi’s offering but also the Iranian 7-day, step-by-step proposal for a return to negotiations, presented by Foreign Minister Araghchi in New York.

The combo should actually be seen as the China-Iran proposal: a set of Final Terms, finely tuned up by Araghchi and Wang Yi in two subsequent meetings, at the BRICS in New Delhi and then in Beijing. Trump not only rejected the peace offer but bragged – to roars of global laughter – that the United States has “total control” of the “Strait of Trump”.

Trump’s snub has seriously annoyed both Wang Yi and President Xi. In Asian culture, that translates as the worst form of losing face: the dismissal of a recommendation officially made by the highest level of government. So expect the Chinese response to be as vicious as a batch of silk drenched in poison. Beijing will support Tehran even more fiercely now, in more ways than one.

The IRGC, for its part, responded by buttoning up the Strait of Hormuz even tighter. In a matter of 48 hours, Iran burned no less than 19 tankers attempting to cross without following the IRGC Navy/PGSA procedures, fees included. That generated a viral joke all across West Asia: someone tell Trump who’s Daddy in the Strait.

Tehran played its diplomatic cards in New York with extreme finesse. Not only they forced neo-Crassus/neo-Caligula/Goldfinger to publicly reject an offer of peace, but coaxed him into telegraphing an Iran Bombing Remix after the mid-terms; it’s now imprinted to the whole planet that the sociopath does not give a damn about the superimposed avalanche of global economic/fuel/food crises. He’s actually their perpetrator.

Add to it a faultless performance by President Pezeshkian not only at the UN podium, but at the meeting with heads of U.S. Think Tankland and editors of top newspapers in a New York hotel. Pezeshkian won the media war right inside the enemy’s lair: that’s one for the ages.

Trump closes the door Tehran opened yet the clock keeps running: The blockade of Hormuz is leaking like there’s no tomorrow. A great deal goes via Saudi and Iraqi tankers – with tons of petro-yuan changing hands. Smuggling is rife even in the theoretically U.S.-controlled Omani corridor – with Iranian oil moving to petro-sheikh shadow and official tankers alike. No one beats the Persians when it comes to smuggling/survival schemes after 47 years of sanctions. All that keeps energy clients China, Southeast Asia and even South Korea on board.

This Wednesday we reach the deadline of 45 days set by Tehran on August 16 for the end of the Trump naval blockade. Or else. September 30 also happens to be the deadline set by Iraqis for the U.S. to definitively leave Iraq. And all that overlaps with the recent 4 to 5 days deadline set by Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the de facto number two in Iran, for the Americans to end the blockade. That falls on Monday, today.

In a nutshell: As Washington closed the door Tehran opened, Tehran’s clock kept running. Confirmed to our channel Transition Protocol that the senior political and IRGC leadership have already decided what comes next. They will stay the course all the way to this Wednesday. And if there’s no path towards a resolution on the terms that President Xi exposed to Trump in the Oval Office, Tehran is ready to take 5 crucial steps:

1.Expand the battlefield beyond Hormuz to the Indian Ocean.
2. Reserve the right to strike any American naval vessel enforcing the blockade. 
3. Work with Ansarallah to extend the blockade to the Bab al-Mandab.
4. Act preemptively against military build-ups it deems threatening. 
5. Restrict the aviation of any nation that joins the aviation blockade.

No holds barred. Literally. So for the moment we have an ominous Indian Ocean warning; a confirmed threat to all U.S. deployment centers if Washington attacks; and a declared preemption doctrine. What we still don’t have is an order to directly strike U.S. ships. On the aviation front, Iran will go for reciprocity; not missiles.

The Iranian leadership position on U.S. secondary sanctions on virtually any airport anywhere welcoming Iranian flights is quite clear: “If our aircraft do not get into the air, then your aircraft will also not get in the air.” That was voiced by Supreme Leader adviser Mohammad Mokhber. On Saturday, Mohsen Rezaee said Iran will not answer the ban militarily; is negotiating with the states concerned; and holds “multiple non-military options” for some airports.

Apart from big powers China and Russia, several states – including Turkey, Malaysia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan – are completely ignoring the imperial aerial siege on Persia. Then there’s the extraordinary case of Iraq. The Iraqi Resistance first stepped up to declare they would target GCC airports. Then multiple high-ranking clerics in Najaf and Karbala protested in synch and pulled the legitimacy rug from under the puppet government in Baghdad.

Huge protests also engulfed Basra – the oil wealth capital of Iraq, featuring bedouin Shi’ite tribes weaponized to Kingdom Come (I remember them fondly, from the early 2000s). One of their sheikhs gave Baghdad 48 hours to reverse the complicity with the U.S. siege on Iran. So in the end there may be an exemption for flights between Iran and Najaf – basically transporting pilgrims.

Iran’s clock and the U.S. clock: the Window of Supreme Risk: Now for the Red Sea front.That paltry “coalition of the willing” – Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani chiefs of staff, meeting in Riyadh last Friday as members of the Mecca Defense Alliance – moved from blah blah blah to perhaps an attempt at operational arrangements, even as they did not announce joint strikes against Yemen.

Ansarallah is not exactly quaking in their sandals. They launched drones toward Riyadh and missiles toward Khamis Mushait, calling their operations a “rehearsal” for full-scale escalation. Just wait for the coming Yemeni Storm. Yemen is boiling with rage after the Saudis bombed a crowded market in Taiz, killing and wounding at least 50 people, including women and children at a preliminary count. This had to have had direct intel input and ISR from CENTCOM and the death cult.

According to Yemeni sources in Sana’a, Ansarallah may be about to impose an air embargo of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is already plunging into black hole status – complete with forcing Google and western satellites censor evidence of destroyed oil infrastructure and sites in Riyadh/Jizan/Abha/Najran. So a serious probability of significant Iranian and/or Ansarallah action against U.S. naval assets, wider shipping lanes or the Saudi bypass towards Yanbu, all the way to the end of this week, remains high.

Yet the most likely outcome is still an ultra weaponized deadlock in which Tehran signals rather than strikes on September 30. Certified fact: the window between Iran’s clock and Washington’s clock – September 30 to November 3 – is now the Window of Supreme Risk.

True Arab civilizational poles vs. dumb camel herders: And that brings us to a key revelation by a source inside the room of the top-level China-Pakistan-Iran alignment. The source confirmed that after the Xi visit to the U.S., Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a direct, top-secret conversation.

Beijing gave up on Washington and is now playing its hand again through Islamabad, openly tasking the highest levels of government to contain the crisis. The Pakistanis have been tasked with intervening on behalf of Beijing and Tehran with both Trump and MbS before the escalation ladder reaches a critical stage this week.

What’s implied is that certainly Pakistan – no one knows about Turkey – will not support Saudi Arabia in its allegedly massive planned offensive against Yemen. This was confirmed by another top source in Islamabad; the Pakistani government has certainly done the math that helping to save the unsaveable House of Saud will bury Pakistan’s role as mediator between Iran and the U.S.: it will be as dead as the dead cat Islamabad MoU.

It’s never enough to remember that for centuries Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and Sana’a formed the true civilizational poles of the cosmopolitan Sufi Arabs. Nothing to do with the dumb camel herders that compose the ghastly House of Saud.

And that connects with the top two categorical imperatives for the Epstein Syndicate. They want the destruction of Persia – the nuclear genocide announced at the UN podium by the sociopath POTUS. That should be coupled with the destruction of the Arab Axis of Resistance – in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. And then the destruction of the dumb GCC petro-sheikhs as well, because they would remain too wealthy, influential and possibly unpredictable after the Axis of Resistance is no more.

Cue to the leader of the death cult in West Asia “secretly” flying on a private plane to Abu Dhabi on Sunday to meet MbZ. He spent the entire day in the Emirates. There was no leak whatsoever about the meeting. This happened right after the leader of the death cult once again demonized Iran at the UN.

It’s now clear that Yemen and Persia come as a package – the two privileged fronts of the West Asia theatre. Pay attention to the consequences of this “secret” meeting between the death cult and the Arab Zionists. West Asia is about to burn all the way into the heavens."

"How It Really Is"

 

Dan, I Allegedly, "Has McDonalds Lost its Mind?"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 9/30/26
"Has McDonalds Lost its Mind?"
"McDonald’s is using artificial intelligence to help determine what it believes is the “optimal price” for menu items, with customer “willingness to pay” among the factors being analyzed. In this video, Dan breaks down the growing controversy surrounding AI-driven dynamic pricing, including reports of significant price differences between McDonald’s locations only a few miles apart. We also look at McDonald’s new drive-thru advertising experiment and what happens when AI starts playing a bigger role in the prices consumers pay. This is bigger than the price of a Big Mac. AI is rapidly changing the restaurant and retail industries - from pricing and inventory to staffing, advertising and discounts. Where does efficiency end and consumer fairness begin? Dan looks at what McDonald’s is doing, what “customer willingness to pay” could mean for consumers, and why this technology deserves our attention. Has McDonald’s lost its mind? You decide. iAllegedly brings you daily business news, personal finance information and the stories you may not hear everywhere else."
Comments here:

Bill Bonner, "The Bloated Cow"

"The Bloated Cow"
by Bill Bonner

Ardmore, Ireland - "The most important story we’re following this week is one we’ve been tracking since 2020. Back then, it was just a high-confidence hunch - that the 40-year Primary Trend of the credit market had bottomed out. If so, on the horizon was a long period of rising interest rates that would upend trillions in investment, saving, business and speculative decisions.

Six years on...the Primary Trend toward higher yields (and interest rates) is now well established. And this time, we think it is going ‘to the moon.’ It will end not with a natural correction in the markets or a deliberate policy by a Paul Volcker at the Fed. This time, the politicians will go whole hog...and turn it into a full-bore debacle.

Once again, we are just guessing. Not even Scott Bessent knows the future. But here’s the latest, Wolf Richter: "It would make sense for the bond market to take a breather here and digest a little. But the dynamics are in place for yields to rise further. The 20-year Treasury yield rose by 17 basis points during the week, and by 37 basis points since Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech on August 28, to 5.55% on Friday, the highest since June 2004, and higher than the 30-year Treasury yield (5.50%)." During the day, the 20-year yield had traded as high as 5.59%..

Last week, we were puzzling over why the voters are turning against mainstream politics. This is why: they sent us up the creek...and took away the paddle. Many are the dots that could be connected...from foreign policy ‘mistakes’ to undisciplined domestic giveaways...but like the spider at the center of the web, all the threads lead back to the money itself.

After 1971, fake dollars - with nothing to attach them to the real world of goods and services - spun out into the world as credit. They were borrowed into being, each one registered on the great ledger as an asset...and a liability, debt. The asset - cash  - was spent. The debt is still there. And set in motion was a whole chain of awfulness, link upon link...counterfeit money created the illusion of wealth...and every price signal became a lie, not a fact. It was as if the highway’s signs had been turned around as a fraternity prank; there were collisions on every street corner...and the economy veered toward the swamp.

And now, the Bubble Empire...following the phony signage, is far from home; in an alternate universe...it quakes and cracks. Its gold-braided warfare wing tried to impose itself on the Middle East four times - Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Iran - with nothing to show for it. And at home, the weight gain in uncontrolled social programs is nothing less than breathtaking, even adjusted for inflation, it’s four times what it was in 1971.

What are voters to think? What are they to do...but turn against the people they hold responsible for it? The authorities had two choices - inflate or die. They chose inflation, as they always do. They thought they could ‘inflate their way out’ of the spider’s web. And wouldn’t it be nice to think so. A period of rising prices. Where’s the harm?

We’ve already done it. WWII debts, for example, largely disappeared as the US dollar lost 87% of its real value since 1971. Just since 2020, the rise in US Treasury yields from 1% to 5% wiped out half the bonds’ value. And here comes this headline from MarketWatch: "Junk bonds are heading for worst month since 2022 after punishing global selloff."

So, bond investors lose money. Who cares? Inflate or Die? Easy, peasy...we’ll take inflation! And who owns Treasury bonds, anyway? Only big institutional investors, not many private investors. Nobody weeps for a pension fund manager. Trouble is, someone relies on the pension. And he votes. Besides, hitting the debt Everest with a 10% inflation rate would turn it into a molehill in just a few years...but not while the feds are adding 10% per year. And meanwhile, the chumps in the bond market are rediscovering their ‘inner vigilantes.’ They want a real return on their money. 

Wolf Richter: "Bloomberg’s Markets Pulse survey of 173 macroeconomic and market participants revealed today that over 50% of them expect the 30-year yield to be higher than 6% by the end of 2026. Why buy now if you think you can get a 6%+ yield in a few months? This would be the highest yield since the roaring Dotcom Bubble year 1999. Those fence sitters are going to stay on their fence."

All of which just goes to say that there can be no orderly ‘inflating away’ the Bubble Empire. No gentle-action financial laxative. No gaucho’s knife to puncture the bloated cow. The credit cycle has turned. As the dollar goes down, interest rates - and the real cost of carrying the debt - go up. Yes, the debt will be inflated away. But so will a great deal more."

"Col. Douglas Macgregor: Israel vs Turkey and Qatar: New US War Strategy?"

Glenn Diesen, 9/30/26
"Col. Douglas Macgregor: Israel vs 
Turkey and Qatar: New US War Strategy?"
Comments here:
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Col. Col. Macgregor 
"Fears That Israel Will Strike Iran:
'The Next Round Goes Nuclear!'"
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"Snyder Reports, 9/30/26"

Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 9/30,26
"They Don't Make Them Like They Used To: 
The Quality Collapse"
"You're paying more money for worse products - and companies are finally admitting it. Wendy's CEO just admitted food quality hasn't been the chain's top priority. They were focused on profit, not you. And they're not alone. From cars falling apart to electronics dying after an update to clothes ripping after one wash, quality is collapsing while prices keep climbing. In this video I break down what's really happening with shrinkflation and planned obsolescence, including my $4.29 McDonald's junior chicken that shocked me, the Black Friday tool set that went from 215 pieces to 163 pieces for the same $50 price, and why my friend's $400 TikTok mower will never replace a $1,200 Ego. This isn't just about food - it's vehicles, tires, light bulbs, cameras, security systems, toys and clothing. Everything is getting smaller and cheaper-made while they tell you it's the same price as last year. What is the one item you've seen recently where the quality just isn't there anymore? Let me know down below."
Comments here:
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Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 9/30,26
"New Inflation Report Just Dropped &
 It's Worse Than You Think"
"New PCE inflation report just dropped and private payrolls surged -  here’s what it means for YOUR money heading into October. Core inflation came in at 3% in August and headline inflation hit 3.4%, both lighter than expected but still far above the Fed’s target. At the same time, the ADP jobs report shows private sector jobs rose by 90,000 in September, beating expectations. Consumer spending just posted its biggest jump in a year, Q2 GDP was revised sharply higher, and markets are now pricing in a lower chance of an October rate hike. But is it real? In this video I break down the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index, what the ADP employment data really tells us about long-term unemployment, wage growth at 3.2%, and why pre-election economic numbers historically get revised. I also warn why 2027 could feel worse even if you’re making more money - with rising prices, shrinking benefits, and inflation still eating your paycheck."
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"McDonald's Is Panicking! Customers Are Showing Exactly Why They Stopped Going"

Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 9/30/26
"McDonald's Is Panicking! Customers Are 
Showing Exactly Why They Stopped Going"
"McDonald's is panicking as customers stop going, and the people who used to eat there every week are showing exactly why. Menu prices climb every year, the dollar menu is dead, and the deals are locked inside an app that freezes at the window. In this video, McDonald's customers and one employee show what a visit looks like now: over $9 for two items, an extra charge for pickles at the drive-thru, a charge for a water cup, a surprise charity charge on the receipt, a paid mobile order ignored all night, an order handed to a stranger first, and an app that turns ordering into troubleshooting. We look at why the drive-thru has gone quiet, what fast food prices are doing to working families, and how to feed a family on a tight budget at home."
Comments here:

Adventures With Danno, "This Is Going To Wreck The Economy!"

Adventures With Danno, 9/30/26
"This Is Going To Wreck The Economy!"
Comments here:

"The Steady Erosion Of The Middle Class In America Resembles A Very Twisted Game Of Musical Chairs"

by Michael Snyder

"Have you lost your spot in the middle class yet? Most Americans do not aspire to become rich and they certainly do not want to be poor. Most of the U.S. population just wants to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle just like their parents did. Unfortunately, there is a huge problem. Since the beginning of this decade, virtually everything has been getting a lot more expensive. So even if your income has been going up, if it hasn’t been going up as fast as the cost of living has you are still falling behind. Chasing “the American Dream” has essentially become like playing a really twisted game of musical chairs. Every single month most Americans are just barely scraping by, and every single month more chairs are being removed from the game. If you still have your seat, you should be very thankful, but I wouldn’t get too comfortable because another major economic downturn is rapidly approaching.

If you are going to live a middle class lifestyle, you have got to have a home. But homes are now more unaffordable than they have ever been before. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average sales price for a new home in the U.S. was $502,700 as of the second quarter of 2026. And the national average for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage is now way over 7 percent. Who can afford that? The top 10 percent of all income earners can still afford that, but that is about it.

If you purchased a home prior to the beginning of this current decade, you are in good shape. But if you are a young adult that is just starting out, you are out of luck. That is one of the reasons why more than 25 million U.S. adults under the age of 35 are still living with their parents… "A record number of adult children under 35 in the U.S. are moving back in with their parents, either because they can’t afford homes of their own or because they want to save money amid the rising cost of living, according to a recent study.

In 2025, 25.2 million adults under 35 lived at home, according to Realtor.com, which found that the share of adults living with their moms and dads was higher than it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these adults moving back in with their parents are employed, but their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation. Among the 25- to 34-year-olds living at home, roughly 7 in 10 have jobs, the online real estate firm found. A lot of those young adults have no hope of buying a home for the foreseeable future."

This is life in America in 2026. As our standard of living has eroded, more Americans than ever are living in an RV. In fact, the number of Americans that are living in an RV has more than doubled since 2021… About 486,000 people live full time in an RV, which appears to be more than twice as many as in 2021, according to survey data from the RV Industry Association. About a third have children, and a vast majority earn less than $75,000 a year.

Of course a lot of Americans can’t even afford an RV. I asked Google to give me the total number of Americans that are sleeping in their vehicles, and this is what I was told…An estimated 1 million to 3 million Americans regularly sleep in a car, van, or RV due to housing affordability and the ongoing housing crisis. The truth is that it is quite difficult to get a really accurate number because a lot of people that are sleeping in their vehicles don’t like to be counted. But we can all see that the numbers have been growing. In fact, some major cities now have vast parking lots where people that sleep in their vehicles can rest safely at night.

We never had such a thing when I was growing up. Overall, the number of homeless in this country has reached a truly frightening level. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a total of 1,456,923 Americans “were either homeless or living in taxpayer subsidized/funded housing for the homeless” as of the beginning of last year…745,652 individuals were homeless on a single night in January 2025;  266,320 individuals were living unsheltered on a single night in January 2025; 1,456,923 individuals were either homeless or living in taxpayer subsidized/funded housing for the homeless. I am sure that when the final numbers for 2026 are released they will be even higher.

Meanwhile, food just continues to become even more expensive and the number of Americans that are going hungry just continues to grow. According to the Alliance to End Hunger, 47.9 million Americans live in food insecure households. This number reflects that 14.4 % of the population, or roughly 1 in 7 people in the U.S. lived in food insecure households. 14.1 million children lived in food insecure households. Those numbers are a bit old, and so I am sure that they are even higher today. Every time I go to the grocery store, it seems like more prices have been changed. I know that all of you are noticing the same thing. Our ability to feed our families is being eviscerated right in front of our eyes.

One recent study found that it now takes a single person in New York City $158,954 a year just to “afford the basics”… For example, the median household income across New York City in 2025 was $86,900. However, a SmartAsset study found that single New Yorkers needed to make at least $158,954 that year to afford the basics (such as housing, groceries, utilities, and transportation) and cover the costs of a couple of hobbies. This is one of the reasons why our young adults are so hesitant to get married and have children. It just costs so much money. And now the economy is moving in the wrong direction again.

This month, the Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence “fell sharply”…Consumer sentiment fell sharply in September as an inflation-weary public took a dimmer view on the labor market and the impact higher prices would have on their finances, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The board’s Consumer Confidence Index tumbled to 81.9, a decline of 6.7 points and a reading well below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 89.

Of course this reading is perfectly consistent with other surveys. Earlier this month, the University of Michigan’s index of consumer confidence fell to the second lowest level ever recorded… The Conference Board’s reading is in keeping with similar surveys. The University of Michigan’s consumer survey showed sentiment fell 7% in September to its second-lowest reading on record.

The American people hate what is happening to the economy. Why is that so difficult for “the experts” to comprehend? Sadly, dissatisfaction with the economy has pushed some Americans toward socialism. In fact, a recent Gallup poll found that the percentage of Americans that have a positive view of socialism has reached an all-time high…"Forty-three percent of Americans now have a positive view of socialism, marking the first time this figure has exceeded 39% in Gallup’s trend since 2010. Socialism still trails capitalism and free enterprise in public favorability but now ranks ahead of big business. Small business remains the clear leader among the five economic concepts tested, with 95% viewing it positively."

Needless to say, socialism is not the answer to anything. But most Americans perceive that our current system is deeply broken, and that is because it is deeply broken. We need to return to the basics. We need to return to the economic values that were embraced by our founders. Will that ever happen? We better hope so, because right now the middle class in this country is steadily shrinking.

John Wilder, "Diversity + Proximity Still Equals War"

"Diversity + Proximity Still Equals War"
by John Wilder

"I was thinking about rivers the other day, and realized the reason the Mississippi runs through St. Louis is that if it walked, it would get stabbed. I kid. But I was thinking about rivers as a metaphor. If I dump a gallon of water on the ground in Modern Mayberry, and it hits the stream, I’m not sure about what path it will take, exactly.

Tributaries wander. The location of each little creek and drainage ditch may change. Hell, the Mighty Mississippi even wanders from time to time, but if my gallon of water hits it, regardless of the path, the destination of that water is the ocean. Some things are like that: near certainties, it’s just the “how we get there” changes. Today, let’s take the big Kahuna, population.

The highest fertility peoples in the world are in Sub-Saharan Africa and to a lesser extent Pakistan and Afghanistan. India was above replacement but is slightly below right now using 2024 data. However, India is leading the people numbers, so we’ll keep them in.
Click image for larger size.
These are also some of the least intellectually gifted people on the planet, coming from many countries where the average IQ is so low that half or more of the population would be considered “borderline impaired”. Given the relatively low IQ, it’s not surprising that these areas are also the least educated, least well-governed, and poorest countries in the world, often starving themselves through nearly comical mismanagement of the local resources which could give them amazing wealth and prosperity if managed with just a modicum of thought.

Decolonizing these areas was not a kindness, but sometimes you get what you asked for, and they certainly did, good and hard. Soon enough, there will be billions of Sub-Saharan Africans. Where is this surplus of people going to go?

Unlike my metaphorical gallon of water, they’re not going to line up two-by-two and march into the ocean. The choices then, are simple. They either stay in the same country and kill and eat each other, or they migrate by the hundreds of millions to places where they can descend like locusts and turn that location into a Mad Max wasteland as well. Where? They really have only one logical destination. Europe. And, America a little, but more on that below.
This, of course, will destroy Western Civilization in Europe. From the outward appearances right now, it looks like there are about sixty people on the whole continent that are opposed to this invasion enough to do something to stop it, and they’re mainly Irish.

Matt Bracken notes that just a few shipping containers of AK-47s and there are divisions of these “migrants” ready to take over country after country in Europe, far outnumbering the police, army, and armed citizenry. These men are all over, being paid to be there so Germans and English men and women can have the opportunity to work long hours to support the invaders. The irony is that often the invaders have better food and lodging than the actual workers that support them.

The GloboLeftElite is thrilled about this, because, hey, quarterly profits will go through the roof AND we’ll get rid of the Germans, French, English, and Irish in a couple of generations. To the GloboLeftElite, these invaders are the real Europeans, or at least the “Europeans” they want.

I cannot tell you exactly which European capital will fall first, or if the Indians and Pakistanis will have to partition London so they don’t end up fighting each other. But I can say that this collapse into a balkanized group of tribal fiefdoms from the Atlantic to the Danube is all but assured.

I said I’d get back to America, so let’s pick up that tributary.
Tens of millions, at minimum, will try to make it to the United States. The Democrats, Chamber of Commerce Republicans, and the Libertarian (capital L) types will want to let them in as fast as they can get here. Why? In order: reliable votes for a route to permanent power, cheap labor, and . . . “Am I being detained?” I guess.

It is much tougher physically to get to the United States directly. So, they’ll use Canada, which is helpfully importing infinity Indians right now, and is trying to become an associate member of the EU because, well, Trump. If they join the EU as an associate member, anyone in Europe can wander on over any time, just like those “refugees in fear for their lives” who regularly vacation in the countries that they’re so afraid of. Time will tell, but you know the answer.

Getting to North America is also more expensive, but that seems to only be a moderate impediment with NGO after NGO (funded by US government payments) bringing them here, and often funding their transport into the United States. Many of these groups hate the United States, so certainly their intent in giving us blessing of diversity is benign, right?

While less certain than the fate of Europe, I fully expect the next Democratic administration, if not the next Republican administration, to invite in millions like Biden did, and work to get them either citizenship or on the voting rolls as soon as possible. This is inevitable.

The balkanization of the United States, absent a significant change, likewise seems to be inevitable. The major difference to Europe is that Americans are armed in impressive numbers with my guess being that there are two guns for every person in the country, at minimum. I suspect there are many, many more since official estimates are based on weapons produced for private use since 1990. A few containers of AK-47s dropped to illegal aliens would cause havoc in the United States, but wouldn’t result in the nearly immediate surrender you’d see in, say, France or England.

Whereas the final end of the conflict in Europe seems to be certain, the certainty of what will happen in the United States is not the ultimate outcome, but that there will be massive civil unrest.

Why? As the great Chateau Heartiste put forward, “Diversity + Proximity = War” and the millions of diversity imported into the country make widespread armed conflict inevitable. Think the moslems in Dearborn, Michigan are going to try to become Americans, or keep pelting peaceful Christians with stones and trying to kill them? Yeah, they’re going to keep trying to kill them as they take over city after city. Diversity, I guess, is a stabbing. I get the sense, though, that Americans are going to fight back at some point, and unlike Europeans, have the means to do so.

I had intended to tackle a whole host of trends, but here we are. Just one. I’ll toss in this St. Thomas Aquinas quote on immigration. A saint outranks a pope, right?

"For they were not at once admitted to citizenship: just as it was law with some nations that no one was deemed a citizen except after two or three generations, as the Philosopher Aristotle says. The reason for this was that if foreigners were allowed to meddle with the affairs of a nation as soon as they settled down in its midst, many dangers might occur, since the foreigners, not yet having the common good firmly at heart, might attempt something hurtful to the people."

We can wish all we want, but the water will find the ocean. At least in the United States, there is still some ability to plot its course."

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

"GC's 3 Gs: Guns, Gold, and a Getaway Plan. Politicians are Creating a Global Crisis. Prepare!"

Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 9/29/26
"GC's 3 Gs: Guns, Gold, and a Getaway Plan. 
Politicians are Creating a Global Crisis. Prepare!"
"In this episode, Celente analyzes the latest developments in the Iran War as President Trump rejects a proposal aimed at de-escalating tensions, raising fears of a broader regional conflict. He also examines the impact of rising oil prices, the shaky state of today's financial markets, and what these trends mean." 
Comments here:

"Alert! Russian Embassies Issue "Extremely Rare Nuclear Warning, Kaliningrad Invasion Plans"

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 9/29/26
"Alert! Russian Embassies Issue 
'Extremely Rare Nuclear Warning', Kaliningrad Invasion Plans"
Comments here:

"Everything Is Becoming 'Surge Pricing' - Americans Are Fed Up"

Full screen recommended.
Snyder Reports, 9/29/26
"Everything Is Becoming 'Surge Pricing' - 
Americans Are Fed Up"
"Are you paying more for the same Big Mac just because of where you live? Reuters just exposed it. In this video I break down McDonald's secret Pricing Engine, Walmart's electronic shelf labels, and why the same big mac, groceries, and fast food cost 11% more just 2 miles away. This isn't just McDonalds - it's Walmart, Kroger, Dollar General, gas stations, and car dealerships. And AI is now letting them change prices daily in seconds. I also share my own KFC story where I paid $13 for two chicken sandwiches at one location, then over $8 for ONE just 5 miles away. Have you seen this in your town? Let me know in the comments. Stay informed on inflation, the cost of living crisis, and fast food prices so you can prepare for the best and worst days."
Comments here:

"Brace For Losing Everything! The Middle Class Is Disappearing, Sleeping In Your Car To Survive"

Jeremiah Babe, 9/29/26
"Brace For Losing Everything! The Middle Class 
Is Disappearing, Sleeping In Your Car To Survive"
Comments here:

"Grocery Stores Are Getting Scary! Families Are Showing What They Pay Now"

Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 9/29/26
"Grocery Stores Are Getting Scary! 
Families Are Showing What They Pay Now"
"Grocery stores are getting scary, and families are showing exactly what they pay now. Prices on the basics creep up week after week, and the weekly shopping trip has become one of the biggest bills in the house. In this video, shoppers show their receipts and their carts: Walmart app prices two years apart, $210 for one week of food, a biscuit price that jumped in a single week, $44 for chicken salad, a dollar box that now costs five dollars, two incomes that still can't cover food, $338 spent with still no food in the house, and a Walmart price that changed at the register. We look at what food inflation is doing to working families and how to stock a pantry that lasts."
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: Barry Manilow, Cilla Black, "You'll Never Walk Alone"

Barry Manilow, Cilla Black, "You'll Never Walk Alone"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Where do the dark streams of dust in the Orion Nebula originate? This part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, M43, is the often imaged but rarely mentioned neighbor of the more famous M42. M42, seen in part to the upper right, includes many bright stars from the Trapezium star cluster.
M43 is itself a star forming region that displays intricately-laced streams of dark dust - although it is really composed mostly of glowing hydrogen gas. The entire Orion field is located about 1600 light years away. Opaque to visible light, the picturesque dark dust is created in the outer atmosphere of massive cool stars and expelled by strong outer winds of protons and electrons."
o
"The eternal silence of infinite spaces frightens me. Why now rather than then? Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time have been ascribed to me? We travel in a vast sphere, always drifting in the uncertain, pulled from one side to another. Whenever we find a fixed point to attach and to fasten ourselves, it shifts and leaves us; and if we follow it, it eludes our grasp, slips past us, and vanishes for ever. Nothing stays for us. This is our natural condition, most contrary to our inclination; we burn with desires to find solid ground and an ultimate and solid foundation for building a tower reaching to the Infinite. But always these bases crack, and the earth obstinately opens up into abysses. We are infinitely removed from comprehending the extremes, since the end of things and their beginning are hopelessly hidden from us in an encapsulated secret; we are equally incapable of seeing the Nothing from which we were made, and the Infinite in which we are swallowed up."
- Blaise Pascal

"On the Old Vet's Last Day, Every Animal He Ever Saved Came Back"

Full screen recommended.
"On the Old Vet's Last Day,
 Every Animal He Ever Saved Came Back"
"For fifty years, Doc Bennett remembered every animal he healed by drawing its portrait. On his final day as the town veterinarian, he expected an empty clinic -  and one last blank frame on the wall. Then a quiet line formed on the cobblestones. None of them had come for treatment. A red hen climbed the exam table. A horse rested his head on the healer’s chest. A seagull opened wings that once could not fly. A hedgehog brought the smallest treasure. Even the geese came home. Through Three-Quarter Town, the quiet word had flown: every heart he mended came walking back. When the room finally emptied, one last patient was still waiting by the desk - his old dog Rusty. He checked the tired paws, the clouded eyes, the faithful heartbeat. Then he filled the final frame. An AI-animated story from Three-Quarter Town - original music, slow and quiet - about gratitude, retirement, a wall of fifty years, and the friend who never left his feet. If this gave you a soft minute, you’re welcome in town anytime."

"Valley of Eternal Flowers"

Full screen recommended.
Crystal Heaven,
"Valley of Eternal Flowers"
"Step into a world where giant flowers bloom endlessly, crystal rivers flow through enchanted valleys, and golden lights dance beneath a dreamlike sky. Welcome to the Valley of Eternal Flowers - a peaceful fantasy realm created for relaxation, sleep, meditation, studying, reading, or simply escaping into a magical world for a while. Let yourself wander through breathtaking landscapes filled with: Giant magical flowers, Crystal rivers and sparkling streams, Dreamlike waterfalls, Glowing gardens filled with golden lights, Magical butterflies and tiny luminous creatures, Enchanted forests and ancient trees, Peaceful fantasy landscapes, Soft blue, turquoise and pastel dreamscapes. Relaxing Fantasy Music & Magical Ambience. Allow the gentle music and beautiful scenery to carry you deeper into this enchanted world. Whether you're looking for peaceful background music, a relaxing visual experience, sleep ambience, meditation, or inspiration, this journey is designed to create a calm and dreamy atmosphere."

Incredibly beautiful...

Native American Elder, "Why You're Still Alive After Everything"

Full screen recommended.
Native American Elder,
"Why You're Still Alive After Everything"

Delta King's Blues, "Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies"

Full screen recommended.
Delta King's Blues,
"Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies"
"Growing old ain’t gentle… it’s a test of grit. “Getting Old Ain’t for Sissies” is a raw, straight-talkin’ Delta King’s Blues tune about stiff mornings, long memories, and the stubborn strength it takes to keep going. A gravel-toned acoustic guitar grinds out a slow back-porch groove, steady as boots on worn wood. The harmonica wails low and weathered, like it’s felt every mile of the road itself. The rhythm stays slow and tough, built for folks who learned life doesn’t hand out easy years. This is blues about surviving the long haul. For people who may creak when they stand up - but never back down from another day. Getting old ain’t for the soft… it’s for the strong who kept showing up."

The Poet: John O’Donohue, “In These Times”

“In These Times”

“In these times when anger
Is turned into anxiety,
And someone has stolen
The horizons and mountains,
Our small emperors on parade
Never expect our indifference
To disturb their nakedness.
They keep their heads down,
And their eyes gleam with reflection
From aluminum economic ground,
The media wraps everything
In a cellophane of sound,
And the ghost surface of the virtual
Overlays the breathing earth.

The industry of distraction 
Makes us forget
That we live in a universe.
We have become converts 
To the religion of stress
And its deity of progress;
May we may have courage 
To turn aside from it all,
And come to kneel down before the poor,
To discover what we must do,
How to turn anxiety
Back into anger,
How to find our way home.”

~ John O’Donohue,
from “To Bless the Space Between Us”
○
by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

"Relax. They're not going to kill us. They're going to
TRY and kill us. And that is a very different thing."
- Steve Voake, "The Dreamwalker's Child"

“My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times. I have heard from so many recently who are deeply and properly bewildered. They are concerned about the state of affairs in our world now. Ours is a time of almost daily astonishment and often righteous rage over the latest degradations of what matters most to civilized, visionary people.

You are right in your assessments. The lustre and hubris some have aspired to while endorsing acts so heinous against children, elders, everyday people, the poor, the unguarded, the helpless, is breathtaking. Yet, I urge you, ask you, gentle you, to please not spend your spirit dry by bewailing these difficult times. Especially do not lose hope. Most particularly because, the fact is that we were made for these times. Yes. For years, we have been learning, practicing, been in training for and just waiting to meet on this exact plain of engagement.

I grew up on the Great Lakes and recognize a seaworthy vessel when I see one. Regarding awakened souls, there have never been more able vessels in the waters than there are right now across the world. And they are fully provisioned and able to signal one another as never before in the history of humankind.

Look out over the prow; there are millions of boats of righteous souls on the waters with you. Even though your veneers may shiver from every wave in this stormy roil, I assure you that the long timbers composing your prow and rudder come from a greater forest. That long-grained lumber is known to withstand storms, to hold together, to hold its own, and to advance, regardless.

In any dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or unmended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency, too, to fall into being weakened by dwelling on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there. That is spending the wind without raising the sails.

We are needed, that is all we can know. And though we meet resistance, we more so will meet great souls who will hail us, love us and guide us, and we will know them when they appear. Didn’t you say you were a believer? Didn’t you say you pledged to listen to a voice greater? Didn’t you ask for grace? Don’t you remember that to be in grace means to submit to the voice greater?

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.

What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing. We know that it does not take everyone on Earth to bring justice and peace, but only a small, determined group who will not give up during the first, second, or hundredth gale.

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these – to be fierce and to show mercy toward others; both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.

Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.

There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it. I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate.

The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.”
○
“Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Jungian psychiatrist and post trauma recovery specialist, writes this to social activists. Estes is perhaps most famous for her book, "Women Who Run With the Wolves." This letter appears, in part, on Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ blog. The date of the original letter is unknown.

Joel Bowman, "Ramblin' Man"

"Ramblin' Man"
by Joel Bowman

“Lord, I was born a ramblin’ man,
Tryin’ to make a livin’ and doin’ the best I can.
And when it’s time for leavin’, I hope you’ll understand
That I was born a ramblin’ man.”
~ "Ramblin’ Man" by the Allman Brothers

Sao Paulo, Brazil - "We are on the road today, dear reader… or rather, up in the air. Our peripatetic family of three (wifey, daughter, and yours truly) is hopping its way up the content to a little hideaway in northeastern Brazil. We’ll have more from our destination in due course, but first…

When we left you last week, we were meditating on the fate of mankind. Are our AI Overlords plotting and planning their creator’s (that’s us) extinction? Are we to be its master… its servant… or, as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak predicts, its best friend. “They’ll treat humans as pet Labradors,” he once told TIME Magazine.

More on the future in… well, the future. Today, we offer a few words about the vagabond, the gypsy, the restless wanderers of our distant past. Polite society tends to look somewhat askance at the rootless among us, the shiftless, the itinerant. They are the drifters...the hobos...the rolling stones. And they are nothing new.

Prior to the Agricultural Revolution, the human race had no need for such descriptions. Back then, everybody was a “ramblin’ man.” Before they became farmers, Homo sapiens were nomads, hunter-gatherers, vagrant workers who went wherever opportunity presented itself. Usually, that opportunity was determined by seasonality and, in turn, food supply...or lack thereof. (Of course pestilence, inter-tribal conflict, religious mythology and other factors drove people in various directions at various times too.)

Forget about building walls to keep people out...or in. These ancient folk didn’t even have walls to keep roofs overhead. As for travel visas...reciprocity fees...passport stamps and all the rest...well, they weren’t yet baked into the cosmic firmament, taken as given.

Then, sometime around 12,000-10,000 BC, a curious thing happened. Ramblin’ Man decided life on the road was not for him after all. He wanted a home of his own...a white picket fence...a place to rest his weary head and let his blisters heal. Or something like that.

Beasts of Burden: There’s some disagreement among historians as to how this “lifestyle change” came to pass. Some think the first farms were little more than a few seeds sprouting near common latrines. Members of the wandering tribes noticed they could, with a bit of primitive fertilizer and some modest attention, grow their own food. Thus the imperative to wander, to hunt and gather, fell out of fashion.

Others suggest a more concerted, determined effort to put down the proverbial roots. Experimentation and tinkering, they argue, resulted in technological advancements that allowed man to produce surpluses with increasing regularity and, eventually, some dependability. With this newfound, relative abundance, they decided to stay put.

Still others attribute the transformation to agreeable climates...favorable demographic shifts...certain socio-economic catalysts...even the impulse of the power hungry to throw ostentatious feasts to showcase their political and societal dominance.

However it came about, man domesticated certain crops, probably beginning in the Fertile Crescent (modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Northern Egypt) with three primary cereals - einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, and barley - and soon growing to include four legumes (lentil, pea, bitter vetch, and chickpea) and flax. Other regions began with slightly different diets...maize (corn), beans, and squash in Mesoamerica...millet, and later rice and soybean in China.

Around this time, our budding farmer also domesticated animals, both for meat, milk and wool as well as for general guarding and herding assistance. Among the first were dogs, sheep, goats, cows and pigs. Shortly thereafter, he brought beasts of burden under the whip, using oxen, onagers, donkeys, horses, and camels to plow his fields, turn the earth and transport his harvest to market.

As the story goes, our ancient forefathers prospered in their new, sedentary life. Certainly the population exploded as food stores were able to support ever larger “city centers.” (Probably only thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of inhabitants.) From a purely biological perspective, the species appeared to be thriving. But for the individual, quality of life may have been no better than before these primitive, technological advancements..."