Saturday, May 1, 2021

"Shortage Of Everything Is Here! Prices Are Soaring: Prepare Yourself For Panic And Chaos!"

Full screen recommended.
"Shortage Of Everything Is Here! Prices Are Soaring: 
Prepare Yourself For Panic And Chaos!"
by Epic Economist

"If you are amongst those who have been waiting months for an order to come in, you should get prepared for even longer waiting periods, skyrocketing prices, widespread shortages, and less variety of an increasing range of products as strains in the US supply chain are compromising manufacturers' and retailers' ability to keep up with the exploding demand. And if you're thinking about buying a new car, smartphone, or any domestic appliance, you might face the longest waiting line and the highest price surges in the market as a global chip shortage continues to delay the production and delivery of several goods.

The semiconductor shortage was initially concentrated in the auto industry. Last year, after the sanitary outbreak burst in America and triggered the worst economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, global supply chains faced a major breakdown and carmakers decided to reduce orders for chips anticipating a decline in demand, while tech companies - seeing their sales jump amid lockdown mandates - ran to ensure as many chips as they could. However, the health crisis and government stimulus have changed consumer shopping patterns, and demand for cars never ceased to grow.

Right now, as the shortage is going from bad to worse, it has spread from cars to consumer electronics. According to Goldman Sachs, 169 US industries embed semiconductors in their products. And considering the largest part of chip production remains concentrated in a handful of suppliers, supply chain experts have been warning that the crunch is likely to last until 2022. The constraints are already driving up the price of vehicles across the country particularly because car dealers are seeing stock levels sharply drop. In March, the average price for a new car has jumped to $37,200, marking an 8.4% increase from the same period a year ago.

Plastics and resins and a series of other raw materials, including steel and aluminum, are also facing major shortages and consumers are already trying to judge how rising prices and material shortages are likely to play out during the second half of the year. But it’s not just chips and raw materials. A lot of things consumers buy on a regular basis are disappearing from grocery shelves while others are registering price hikes while inflation subtly eats away at our wallets. Even though raw materials have seen the biggest price increases, the cost of many household goods has started to creep up as well, as the supply chain crisis is also impacting what’s available at grocery stores.

At this point, you probably have noticed that the variety on grocery shelves has been dwindling. Companies are strategizing and prioritizing some products to optimize production. The new consumer patterns have pushed brands like Coca-Cola to discontinue products much faster than they normally would. And experts warn food and beverage companies will keep shrinking their portfolios this year, meaning that your favorite cookie, soup, or soda flavor may soon disappear from the stores.

Walmart, for instance, dramatically diminished their offering to unburden their supply chain during the health crisis. The retailer reduced most product categories, just maintaining two options in each - their own in-house brand and the best seller category brand, and this trend will certainly persist throughout this year. Shortages of canned goods are expected to include a wide range of staples, varying from canned vegetables to soft drinks, and craft beer. Most vegetables are grown seasonally and harvested once a year, and after supplies are gone, "you can't simply produce more of it," explained Gus Lebiak, president and COO of Krasdale Foods, a grocery wholesaler in New York City.

Business Insider reported that bacon and hot dogs and several pork products might become scarce in the summer. "Bargains on meat might be tough for consumers to find this summer," said the analyst. "So my advice to consumers would be to stock up when you find a good deal."

If you haven't started prepping just yet, you should take the chance to stock up on your favorite staples before stores completely ran out of supply. Given that the supply chain crisis is getting worse by the day, there's no end in sight for the ongoing product shortages. And the longer you wait, the highest will be the risk to find inflated prices and a very limited variety of flavors and brands. The time has come for Americans to confront the effects caused by the trillions of printed money that are flooding the system. Heated demand and supply shortages will undoubtedly reflect the rapid decline of our purchasing power, so get ready because the next stage of the US economic collapse will bring about challenges you might have never imagined."

Must Watch! "Trouble Is Coming; Economy Is Crippled; Addiction To Free Money; Households Depend On Free Money"

Full screen recommended.
Jeremiah Babe,
"Trouble Is Coming; Economy Is Crippled; Addiction To Free Money;
Households Depend On Free Money"

Musical Interlude: Pink Floyd, "Comfortably Numb"

Pink Floyd, "Comfortably Numb"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Braided and serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. 
Like its mythological namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in the evolution of low mass stars like the sun as they transform themselves from red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet radiation from the hot star powers the nebular glow. The Medusa's transforming star is the faint one near the center of the overall bright crescent shape. In this deep telescopic view, fainter filaments clearly extend above and right of the bright crescent region. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over 4 light-years across."

The Poet: Czeslaw Milosz, “A Song On The End Of The World”

“A Song On The End Of The World”

“On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.
And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.

And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.

Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.”

~  Czeslaw Milosz

“88 Truths I’ve Learned About Life”

“88 Truths I’ve Learned About Life”
by David Cain

“In the early days of this blog I published what I thought was a throwaway post, entitled “88 Important Truths I’ve Learned About Life”. It was nothing but 88 sweeping aphorisms I had collected as they occurred to me, delivered with a bit of snark. But it was a huge hit and still brings new people to Raptitude. Today I can’t bear to look at it. It’s just too preachy. But I understand the appeal. It’s fun to throw down an aphorism, and ask yourself if you really believe it. Here’s what I’ve learned (I think) in the seven years since. Also quite preachy.

1. Growth means doing things that are hard for you right now. There’s no other way.
2. The news doesn’t show you how the world is. It shows you whatever will make you watch more news.
3. Metal tools and utensils cost a lot more, but last about twenty times as long as plastic ones.
4. Good listeners are rare. When you find one, keep them in your life. And pay it forward.
5. Nobody sees you the way you see yourself, which should probably come as a relief.
6. Often nobody wants to make decisions for the group. Everyone appreciates the person willing to propose a time or a place.
7. Every generation thinks the one that came before them and the one that came after them are the worst.
8. For whatever reason, everywhere in the world human beings are willing to spend enormous amounts of money and time on alcohol.
9. Almost all casual photos would be improved simply by getting closer. You don’t need to get people’s entire bodies in the frame.
10. You don’t really know someone until you know what they struggle with most.
11. Not long ago, tea, sugar and spices were really hard for ordinary people to get. But they’re still as delicious as they always were. So enjoy!
12. If you spend a week tracking how you actually spend your waking hours, you will probably be shocked.
13. Friendships take work to maintain, and it’s possible the other person is doing all the work.
14. One way to add hours to your week, and months to your life, is to put your phone somewhere beyond arm’s reach.
15. Often, to make a breakthrough with something, you just need to stick with it a little longer than you usually do. Even five or ten minutes.
16. You can shave a decade or two off your working life by understanding compound interest and the long-term value of your purchases.
17. It’s almost impossible to convince someone of something once they see you as being on the “other side”.
18. Losing weight really is as simple as reducing the number of calories you eat. Not easy, but very simple.
19. Often we convince ourselves that we have less freedom than we really do, so that we don’t have to be responsible for doing the right thing.
20. Listening to the blues really does help when you have the blues.
21. I said this last time, but as a reminder: it’s worth retrying foods you didn’t like the first time.
22. We all have unconscious biases, even nasty ones about race, class and sex. Don’t believe anyone who says they don’t have any.
23. We are all thinking and ruminating nearly all day long, which is why we constantly seek activities that can relieve us from it, like music, TV, drinking, sex and death sports.
24. Romantic love might be a pretty recent invention, so don’t get too bent out of shape if your experience doesn’t fit the mold.
25. When you quit smoking you immediately realize how bad you stank all those years.
26. Daily meditation has a way of making solutions to many of your problems suddenly obvious.
27. “Comfort zone” is an annoying term but it sure is useful. It’s the only place to find solutions to your longest-running problems.
28. Everything has more detail to be found, if you take some time to look even closer. Especially plants.
29. The main reason we argue online is because it feels good, but we like to imagine it’s also somehow noble or helpful.
30. “Act the way you want to feel” actually works a lot of the time.
31. One thing nobody regrets is becoming a fit, active person.
32. Our beliefs about right and wrong come from mostly from intuitions and gut feelings, not logic.
33. We evolved to go days without food. Missing a meal shouldn’t be a big deal, but if you skip the odd lunch people will assume you have an eating disorder.
34. New York City is a pretty neat place. Don’t die without visiting, if possible.
35. Pretty much all double albums would have been better as single albums. Except maybe The Wall.
36. Propaganda’s effects can last forever. Two hundred years later, most people still think Marie Antoinette said “Let them eat cake”.
37. It’s really liberating, after trying to look smart for so many years, to start freely admitting when you’re wrong and when you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
38. Every household should have an aloe plant. Don’t wait until you burn yourself to go get one.
39. We’re all going to die, and on the whole that is definitely a good thing. Wouldn’t it be terrible if all of this never ended? It would also get very crowded.
40. John Waters was on to something when he said, “If you go home with someone, and they don’t have any books, don’t f**k them.”
41. Voting is only one of many avenues individuals have for shaping the direction of society, and it’s an extremely low-leverage one.
42. The ability to make good art depends a lot on your willingness to make lots of bad art in between.
43. We tend to think more about negative events than positive ones. Knowing that is helpful, in case you think there’s something wrong with you.
44. A decent definition for self-love is “Doing for yourself what you would want your kids to do for themselves.”
45. Not making your bed in the morning sets the bar kind of low for the rest of the day.
46. Having a defensible opinion, on any topic at all, actually requires a ton of work. Mostly reading.
47. Everything you own has an effect on your psyche. Less stuff makes for a less disturbed mind in general.
48. Bachelors, if you want to class your place up a bit, a few plants goes a long way.
49. We are all atheists, in a sense. Every person denies the existence of either most or all of the gods that have been proposed.
50. The most insightful news source in America is The Onion.
51. Meeting and/or staying with locals completely changes the travel experience.
52. The best and worst thing about life is all the other people. Well, mostly.
53. Becoming exceptional at something is probably just a matter of making #15 your normal way of doing things.
54. Going for a walk almost always alters the mood, at least a little.
55. One quality everyone finds attractive is competence, at anything really. Experts are super sexy.
56. We would probably be more moral creatures if we acknowledged how difficult fairness and compassion actually is for members of our species.
57. Lasting habit changes always involve some kind of identity shift. Running every day stops being a grind only once you begin to feel like a runner.
58. To pass easily through crowded sidewalks, stare just above everyone’s hairline and keep your speed up. They will get out of the way.
59. Not hiding it when you’re wrong commands more respect than always appearing to be right.
60. We are all selfish, to a pretty alarming degree. If you’ve ever bought a cocktail, you bought it instead of eyeglasses or medicine for some poor kid somewhere.
61. Whoever invented the zipper was a goddamn genius.
62. When a party has degenerated into people showing each other their favorite YouTube videos, it’s time to call a cab.
63. Future societies will laugh at us for how we let advertising cover nearly every available public space.
64. Other people, generally, can see solutions to your problems more clearly than you can. (Use this to your advantage.)
65. Fears get stronger whenever you heed them, and weaker whenever you act in spite of them. This is a simple law you can depend on.
66. Most of the difficulty and awkwardness associated with a task is stacked right at the beginning, so it’s over with quickly unless you chicken out really early on.
67. Listening attentively to someone’s problem without trying to solve it is a skill that’s greatly appreciated, and is worth practicing.
68. Humans are too complex for everything in their lives to run smoothly at once; it’s probably normal to be a mess in at least a few areas.
69. Lots of people you know are hiding addictions, and you’d never guess who.
70. There will always be enough suffering in the world to horrify you a million times over, so it may not be worth dwelling on at times when you’re not doing anything about it.
71. There’s a kind of low-brow pleasure we get from being angry and indignant, and very often there’s nothing else we gain from it.
72. Most classic novels are very readable, but we think of them as dry and awful because of the ones forced on us in high school.
73. There is a paradoxical relationship between ease and difficulty; sticking to easy things makes life hard, while doing hard things makes life easy.
74. Posture has a predictable and immediate effect on mood.
75. Goals have to improve your life in the short-term in order for you to keep at it all the way to the long-term rewards.
76. It can be really freeing to see a given present moment as though it’s the beginning of your life. In a sense, it is.
77. People usually like it when you ask them for advice in their areas of expertise. Also, #64 makes this a smart thing to do.
78. How free you feel in day-to-day life depends a lot on your willingness to open up to discomfort when it happens. That can be practiced.
79. There’s no need to eat iceberg lettuce in a world with available romaine, baby spinach, arugula and endive. Branch out!
80. By the time voices are raised, communication has stopped.
81. A few fancy, high-quality grocery purchases are still way cheaper than even a crappy restaurant experience, and there will be leftovers.
82. People that lie to others in your presence would probably lie to you just as easily.
83. We overvalue pithiness because it’s immediately gratifying, and we undervalue nuance because it takes too much work. But you should share this post anyway.
84. Keeping secrets is really hard for almost everyone. The secret-keeper eventually confides in one other person, thinking they won’t do the same thing.
85. We tend to think the person we are is the person we’ve been so far.
86. Self-doubt is hard to deal with but it does keep our standards high. The worst art is made by people who think everything they do is great.
87. We always think that our latest dilemma is the one that will destroy us, but so far none of them have. The sky has fallen a thousand times already.
88. Don’t worry, everybody else is crazy too.”

The Daily "Near You?"

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Acceptance..."

"Acceptance is a crucial step forward for those who prefer the idea of living this life over simply existing within it. Accept all that you've said and what you've done, because you cannot change your past. Accept the idea of the unknown, because the future is the unknown waiting patiently to reveal itself. Accept the person you have become thus far in your journey, because you are the only person who will be there with you when you finish it. Do all of this so that you may never find yourself having to accept regret that haunts you at two a.m., leaving you sweaty and broken hearted. All you have is this minute; not this hour, or this day, or this year. Live in this minute so that you won't get stuck simply existing with your guilty past, or with nothing but anxiety for the future."
- Margaret E. Rise

Greg Hunter, "USA Banana Republic Gangster Government"

"USA Banana Republic Gangster Government"
by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Journalist Alex Newman says the rule of law is disappearing in America. You can see it in the thug tactics of raiding the office of the President’s former attorney Rudy Giuliani to the election audit finally underway in Arizona that is sure to reveal massive ballot fraud. Newman contends, “This is one of the biggest stories out there, which is why you won’t find much of it on legacy propaganda media. Arizona is ground zero. If they find fraud, and I believe they have and will find more, that means all these races get thrown into question. I think it is very clear the election was stolen from Donald Trump by Joe Biden and company. If the Democrats are in such a comfortable position right now, all they have to do is wait and they will have a one-party state very much like California. They know if they lose one seat in the Senate, all of that is suddenly in jeopardy. Then there is the possibility to reverse this and, even more significant, to hold some of these criminals accountable. Right now, we just saw the raid on Giuliani. We saw the raid on some of Trump’s attorneys. This is banana republic stuff. This is gangster government, but it’s also the behavior that they don’t have solid control. It is the behavior of people who are terrified if things turn the other way, and they could, that they are going to be in some very deep trouble.”

Newman says look for the legacy propaganda media to go to war over the uncovering of election fraud with the Arizona audit. Newman says, “I think the media will distract. They will try to litigate this in the courts. We already saw the Democrat Party in Arizona say that this audit was a ‘threat to democracy,’ by which they mean a threat to their vote rigging. It goes way beyond this Arizona Senate seat. That is the first and most obvious to fall. If they can show massive fraud in Arizona, and I suspect they will be able to do that, then we need to start looking at Georgia and Michigan. I just interviewed a whistleblower who worked at Dominion who witnessed blatant fraud and election rigging in Michigan. Once Arizona falls, and, yes, this will strip the Senate seat and the very narrow majority Democrats have, then we have to go back and look at the implications for the Presidential Election.”

Newman also says, “We have an illegitimate federal government. We have the majority of the population recognize we have an illegitimate government. They just want us to pretend that everything is normal and everything is fine. Well, Arizona might finally force the issue. This is why the little bit we are hearing in the public arena are things like: these are conspiracy theorists, Trump supporters, kooks, these are partisans, extremists, and they may even be domestic terrorists and this is not a valid audit. So, they are throwing everything they can think of at this without trying to make too many waves because this does have the potential to bring down the whole criminal enterprise. That means a lot of people would be in legal jeopardy. Then the whole narrative implodes and people start speaking out.”

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with hard 
hitting journalist Alex Newman, founder of LibertySentinel.org and 
author of the recent book “Deep State.”

Musical Interlude: Josh Groban, "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)"

Full screen highly recommended.
Josh Groban, 
"You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)"

"How It Really Wasn't, Ever"

 

"At A Time Like This..."

"At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would, today, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced."
- Frederick Douglass

"Mental Laziness Is More Common Than Ever: How to Overcome It?"

"Mental Laziness Is More Common Than Ever:
How to Overcome It?"
by Becky Storey

"We live in a modern society where information is available constantly. We’re able to instantly access what’s going on in faraway countries and we can immediately see how millions of other people feel about it. This is causing more and more of us to develop mental laziness. Instead of thinking for ourselves, we’re allowing others to tell us how to think. The more we do this, the worse our thinking abilities become. Like any muscle, if you don’t use it, it gets weaker.

What Is Mental Laziness? Mental laziness happens when we allow our thoughts to become automatic. Sometimes, this is perfectly fine. For example, once you’ve been a qualified driver for a while, your reactions and movements become automatic. You simply go about your journeys without thinking much of the situation or the decisions you make. This is preferable in situations where you have to react quickly because your brain is working on instinct. In situations that might require deeper thought or critical thinking, however, mental laziness isn’t such a good thing.

Mental laziness includes avoidance of deep thinking, usually because it’s simply too much effort. Mentally lazy people tend to take what they’re told at face value and don’t apply only of their own ideas or debates. This is a major cause of the spread of fake news. Instead of reviewing the information for themselves, mentally lazy people share the news without a second thought. Sometimes, people will go as far as to only read the headlines of news stories before sharing, because reading the article would require too much personal thought.

Instead of taking the time to consider the world around them, people who struggle with mental laziness typically make choices based on whims and gut reactions. They take on a “do it first, think about it later” approach. Mental laziness can manifest in a number of ways. Some people might become risk-takers and rule disobeyers because they don’t care to think about the consequences of their actions or the reasons behind the rules. Other mentally lazy people might just behave in unhelpful and inconvenient ways, such as cleaning up after themselves or watching where they’re going.

Contributing Factors to Mental Laziness:
Lack of Goals: A significant factor that contributes to mental laziness is a person’s lack of long and short term goals. Having something to aim for and a sense of ambition drives us to be more conscious. Ambitious people are constantly searching for purpose in what they do and finding connections between their current activities and their hopes for the future. Without these goals, you’ll develop mental laziness because nothing has much meaning to it.

Fear: With physical laziness, it is often caused by a fear of trying and failing. Saying that you can’t be bothered is an easy way to mask the anxiety caused by a fear of not succeeding. Mental laziness is similar. We avoid thinking about things in case we don’t actually understand the concept. We feel embarrassed when it’s revealed that we don’t understand something, and fear that others will think we’re stupid. Instead of challenging ourselves to think about something, even if it’s a tricky subject, we often wait for others to find the answer for us.

Poor Well-Being: When we’re tired, our brains don’t function as well and we may develop mental laziness. We’re zoned-out and unable to focus. This means we tend to run more on automatic thoughts than deep and critical thinking. Plenty of studies carried out in Finland, prove that our ability to think is deeply impacted by our sleep schedule. Similar studies, like this one done in California, show that our diet also has an impact on mental laziness. Junk food affects our attention span, and malnourishment makes thinking straight difficult. We all know the struggle that is trying to concentrate at school or work just before lunch. Our bodies need energy and nourishment to process information and create deep thoughts.

Irresponsibility: Have you ever met someone who has been so privileged that they have no concept of thinking for themselves? When a person grows up having had everything done for them, they don’t develop their ability to think about their actions. They float through life leaving mess and trouble in their wake, for no evil reason, they’re just mentally lazy. If you’ve never had to take much responsibility for anything, you’re unlikely to ever be forced to think too much about your actions or what else is going on in the world.

How to Overcome Mental Laziness? Fortunately, mental laziness is not something you have to be stuck with forever. With a little conscious effort, you can take your brain off autopilot and become a critical thinker.

Meditation: Mediation is the best way to fight mental laziness. It forces you to be alone with your thoughts. Meditation also teaches us to sort through our minds for valuable information and ditch the nonsense. If you aren’t much of a thinker, use meditation to bring forward thoughts of importance to you. This could ideas of the future, feelings about world events, or just gratitude for family and friends. Meditation doesn’t always need to be done with an empty mind, especially if you struggle with connecting to your thoughts. While overthinkers will benefit from quiet meditation, “underthinkers” and those who are mentally lazy will benefit from thoughtful meditation.

Improve Your Wellbeing: Possibly the most straightforward (but not always easiest) place to start is with your sleep pattern and diet. Try to get into a healthy night-time routine that will provide you with those blissful 9 hours of sleep. Too little sleep makes thinking difficult, but too much could also encourage mental laziness too. Changing your diet can be challenging but will be noticeably beneficial to your brain. A generally healthy diet will be a significant improvement on one which consists mostly of junk foods as your body will have more nutrients and sustainable energy. Specific foods like fish, nuts and even dark chocolate will provide particular vitamins and minerals which are known to improve cognitive functioning.

Take One Task at A Time: Multi-tasking might seem like a great thing to be able to do, but when you fill your brain with several tasks at once, each one gets less attention. Our brains typically can’t handle multiple deep-thinking jobs at the same time, so we become mentally lazy and apply minimal thought to each one. If you’re looking to rid yourself of mental laziness, make sure you always separate your tasks. When you’re taking on a project, you can devote more thought to it this way. No more autopilot, only intentional actions.

Set Some Goals: If you’re looking to gather up some motivation in your life, you can’t go wrong with setting goals. If you’re mentally lazy, you probably just stroll through life without much thought for your next move or the motivation behind your actions. When you have goals, both long and short term, you’ll be much more likely to have deep, critical thoughts in order to guide you to those goals.

Stop Escaping: Some of us hate to be alone with our thoughts. We’ll do anything just to avoid having to hear our brain chatter, especially those of us who suffer from anxiety and negative thinking. This is a type of mental laziness because we’d rather distract ourselves with nonsense than let ourselves think. Instead of running away, let the thoughts in. The only way you’ll solve the underlying cause is by thinking yourself through them.

Mental laziness is an easy trap to fall into these days, but fortunately, it’s not impossible to get back out of. Believe in your ability to create intelligent thoughts. Question the things you see, trust yourself to form your own, valid opinions."

References:
1. https://www.psychologytoday.com/
2. https://www.entrepreneur.com/

"Isochronic Tones Cognition Enhancer, Extended Version"

Headphones are recommended.
"Isochronic Tones Cognition Enhancer, Extended Version"
by Jason Lewis - Mind Amend
 
"This music can be used for longer study sessions and will help you to maintain a good level of concentration and focus, while at the same time feeling quite relaxed.

This track contains isochronic tones, which is the repetitive beats you hear behind the music. After around 5 or 6 minutes your brainwaves start to synchronize with the frequency of the tones. Then, as the tones change and cycle up and down through a specific frequency range, your brainwaves follow along in step with them. This process is known as brainwave entrainment.

The ‘beat’ frequencies used in this track range between 10 to 20 Hz, which means they beat at between 10 to 20 times per second. At the lowest end of 10Hz, this is known as the Alpha frequency range, which is a reasonably relaxed mental state. At the highest 20Hz frequency you go up into the Beta range. When you are awake, alert and focused during the day, your brain’s dominant frequency will be in the Beta range.

When we are studying or doing things that are mentally taxing, we might feel very alert and focused, but we are also a little tense, perhaps because of the importance of what we are working on, or maybe because we are under a time deadline. This extra pressure can cause mental blocks and make it harder for you to ‘think on your feet’.

This isochronic tones session is designed to help overcome that problem, by increasing your levels of Alpha and Beta brainwave activity, so you get the benefit of having increased beta activity which is good for concentration, but at the same time you have enough Alpha activity to be relaxed, resulting in a state of relaxed focus, where you can think more clearly and overcome mental blocks.

This is an advanced ‘split hemisphere’ isochronic tones session, which stimulates each ear with a different beat frequency. Your right brain is stimulated within the 10 to 14Hz range, and your left brain between 10 to 20Hz, making the left more dominant. The left brain is associated with logic, analysis, maths, language, facts and reasoning, so it can be beneficial to have the left more dominant when studying or other similar mentally taxing activities.

If you are new to this type of audio brainwave entrainment, find out how isochronic tones work and how they compare to binaural beats here: 

"Arizona Opens Huge Can of Worms"

"Arizona Opens Huge Can of Worms"
by Jim Rickards

"While the hologram known as Joe Biden dazzled a sparsely-filled House chamber Wednesday night with a plan to turn the USA into the Big Rock Candy Mountain, events were spinning out of control so fast elsewhere that Rachel Maddow’s head was revolving like the demon-possessed little girl in "The Exorcist," spewing a pea soup stream of hysteria at her credulous audience. What’s got her noggin in a twist? “Conspiracy Theorists” are auditing the 2020 election ballots in Arizona, causing “grave concern,” she gushed.

An army of DC-based Lawfare attorneys attempted to quash the audit earlier in the week on the grounds that the vote had already been certified and that was that. But Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Martin ruled otherwise, that it was the prerogative of the state Senate to authorize it, and the audit continues.

Democrats continue trying desperately to hit the pause button on the process. The venue, an old civic arena, is only rented until May 14, so physically disrupting the audit may be their only hope to stop it. But let’s assume for now that the audit does continue. The real question is: what actually happens if the auditors come up with clear and conclusive evidence that the ballot count was wildly incorrect due to fraud?

Opening a Massive Can of Worms: Might the Arizona legislature have to de-certify the election results? One big tamale is the U.S. Senate seat that former astronaut Mark Kelly, a Democrat, took from Republican Martha McSally, giving the Dems a 50 plus one (Kamala Harris) vote advantage. A one-seat swing in the Senate would kill Ol’ Joe’s agenda, right there.

Might Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan also have to submit to audits? Will it take lawsuits to prompt the courts in those states to order it? More importantly, would it shift public opinion further in the direction of cynicism and mistrust of the establishment - including their local officials and the news media?

The numbers are already pretty grim: 70% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats say they doubt the veracity of the 2020 election. If clear evidence emerges that there was massive, widespread election fraud that decided the election, would it lead to a constitutional crisis? How would Joe Biden survive in office if a growing percentage of the public sees him as illegitimate? Would he step down so Kamala Harris would take his place?

Oh wait, if a president was illegitimately elected, then so was his vice president. Then what? The Speaker of the House is next in line. That means Nancy Pelosi. How many people want that to happen? Would they have to reinstate Donald Trump? If you thought last summer’s riots were bad, imagine the riots then. And what might happen if the establishment would attempt to blow the whole matter off? Can they still say “nothing to see” if the public has seen so much that they can’t unsee?

Elections Must Have Integrity: Now, I don’t know how the Arizona audit will turn out, one way or the other. The same is true for any potential audits in other states. I only hope the process settles the question of widespread fraud once and for all. Then the nation can move on. But as Americans, regardless of party, we should all hope that no serious fraud is discovered.

You may or may not like the outcome of an election, but the vote must have integrity. We need to know the system is honest. If our guy won, great. If our guy lost, oh well. We’ll get ‘em next time. If the people lose trust in elections, how does democracy survive? We’re off to banana republic land. Election integrity aside, plenty of other events are roiling in the background with the potential to go critical.

No Heimlich Maneuver for a Nation Choking on Debt: Joe Biden’s proposals to jack the U.S. economy by $5-plus-trillion won’t be very good for the credibility of the U.S. dollar, with other countries already eager to dissociate themselves from dollar-based global trade payment arrangements. But that’s just financial esoterica compared to what’s happening on-the-ground across America, with households running on debt and back payments for rent and mortgages piling up, and landlords and banks taking the hit in the meantime.

There’s no Heimlich maneuver for a nation choking on debt. And that plan to become the Big Rock Candy Mountain, where they hung the jerk who invented work, is liable to disappoint even the number-spinners in the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Also, meanwhile, the U.S. continues to stupidly stir the pot in Ukraine, to provoke war over the breakaway Donbass region in order to give NATO a reason to exist. The Russians don’t want or need to take responsibility for what has become a failed state. But Ukraine has been their buffer from European invasions for centuries and they won’t permit it to become a forward base-of-operations for NATO. Does the USA actually have any real interests there - other than to justify the earnings of defense contractors? The Biden family is not even taking any more payments out of there (as far as we know).

Wait, There’s More: When it comes to real geopolitical friction, look in the other direction, at China. Not only is U.S. weakness vividly obvious to them, they are substantially responsible for it. The Wuhan virus has pushed the disordered U.S. economy over a cliff, and then helped install their preferred guy in the oval office. Among other stupidities, the USA allowed most of its advanced microchip manufacturing capacity to relocate in Taiwan. We can’t run anything here from cars and refrigerators to municipal water systems, and probably even our war weaponry, without continuous supply and resupply of these chips. Game this out.

Then there is the fantastically stupid agitation and provocation on the home-front of the antifa types, who are too dumb to even understand that if you want a police-state, you need police. Rather, they want to live in chaos and anarchy, the Satanic version of the Big Rock Candy Mountain, where the looters play in the stores all day and the jails have gone away. Joe Biden pimped for that hustle Wednesday night, too, declaring the nation systemically racist and “white supremacy” the nation’s greatest domestic menace. Oh really? Not our own Department of Justice, FBI, and the rest of the Intel Community?

Another Can of Worms: The FBI raid on Rudy Giuliani was an interesting development on that front. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, may have chosen the wrong guy to mess around with. If the bozos in DOJ actually charge him with something, they might find themselves in a special hell of discovery - that is, discovery of conclusive evidence that the DOJ has become a criminal operation actively working against the public interest. I daresay the truth is that just about everything the DOJ has done for the past five years involves the covering up of their own shenanigans, and a case against Mr. Giuliani could be just the wedge to open up public recognition of all that.

That would be a little bit of a problem when the people lose all faith that their public officials were elected fairly and honestly. The bottom line is, there’s a lot to push through and sort out in the months ahead. We’re all on ship, leaderless and rudderless, heading into a summer maelstrom. Let’s hope we can make it safely to shore."

Friday, April 30, 2021

Musical Interlude: Medwyn Goodall, "Eyes of Heaven"

Full screen recommended.
Medwyn Goodall, "Eyes of Heaven"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“These three bright nebulae are often featured on telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the large nebula below and right of center, and colorful M20 near the top of the frame. The third emission region includes NGC 6559, left of M8 and separated from the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant. 
Over a hundred light-years across the expansive M8 is also known as the Lagoon Nebula. M20's popular moniker is the Trifid. Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of the emission nebulae. But for striking contrast, blue hues in the Trifid are due to dust reflected starlight. The broad interstellarscape spans almost 4 degrees or 8 full moons on the sky.”

"The World As I See It: Albert Einstein's Thoughts on the Meaning of Life”

"The World As I See It:
Albert Einstein's Thoughts on the Meaning of Life”
by Paul Ratner

“Albert Einstein was one of the world’s most brilliant thinkers, influencing scientific thought immeasurably. He was also not shy about sharing his wisdom about other topics, writing essays, articles, letters, giving interviews and speeches. His opinions on social and intellectual issues that do not come from the world of physics give an insight into the spiritual and moral vision of the scientist, offering much to take to heart.

The collection of essays and ideas “The World As I See It”* gathers Einstein’s thoughts from before 1935, when he was as the preface says “at the height of his scientific powers but not yet known as the sage of the atomic age”.

In the book, Einstein comes back to the question of the purpose of life on several occasions. In one passage, he links it to a sense of religiosity. “What is the meaning of human life, or, for that matter, of the life of any creature? To know an answer to this question means to be religious. You ask: Does it many any sense, then, to pose this question? I answer: The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life,” wrote Einstein.

Was Einstein himself religious? Raised by secular Jewish parents, he had complex and evolving spiritual thoughts. He generally seemed to be open to the possibility of the scientific impulse and religious thoughts coexisting. "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind," said Einstein in his 1954 essay on science and religion.

Some (including the scientist himself) have called Einstein’s spiritual views as pantheism, largely influenced by the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza. Pantheists see God as existing but abstract, equating all of reality with divinity. They also reject a specific personal God or a god that is somehow endowed with human attributes.

Himself a famous atheist, Richard Dawkins calls Einstein's pantheism a “sexed-up atheism,” but other scholars point to the fact that Einstein did seem to believe in a supernatural intelligence that’s beyond the physical world. He referred to it in his writings as “a superior spirit,” “a superior mind” and a “spirit vastly superior to men”. Einstein was possibly a deist, although he was quite familiar with various religious teachings, including a strong knowledge of Jewish religious texts.

In another passage from 1934, Einstein talks about the value of a human being, reflecting a Buddhist-like approach: “The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self.”

This theme of liberating the self is also echoed by Einstein later in life, in a 1950 letter to console a grieving father Robert S. Marcus: “A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.”

In case you are wondering whether Einstein saw value in material pursuits, here’s him talking about accumulating wealth in 1934, as part of the “The World As I See It”: “I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can lead us to noble thoughts and deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and irresistibly invites abuse. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus or Gandhi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?”
Freely download "The World As I See It", by Albert Einstein, here:

"Which Lifeboat Will You Choose?"

"Which Lifeboat Will You Choose?"
by Charles Hugh Smith

"Consider a scenario in which we're on a ship that's sinking, and the lifeboats have been launched. Being some of the last still on board the doomed vessel, we can scan who's in each lifeboat and choose which one we'll clamber into. It's a consequential decision because the currents and weather are already separating the lifeboats, and so each lifeboat will be on its own. The seas are increasingly treacherous, and the nearby islands are surrounded by reefs which could shred the lifeboat's hulls in seconds.

While we don't know everyone on board, we've met many of the other passengers and crew and made the acquaintance of a fair number of our fellow castaways. So who do we choose to join? Our knowledge is imperfect: we only have first impressions and intuitions about the people who will potentially impact our life in a very direct and consequential way.

Do we choose to go in the lifeboat with a friend? This is certainly more appealing than a boat full of strangers. Do we choose a boat with an experienced sailor whose skills in the open ocean would improve our chances of surviving the ordeal ahead? Or do we choose a boat which is already under the control of a natural leader? If we understand that dithering and unresolvable conflicts can lead to disaster by default, then having someone in charge might be worth the risk that their leadership will lead to a catastrophically bad decision.

If we feel we have the experience to take charge and bring a lifeboat to safety, then perhaps we look for the disorganized, leaderless boat. Alternatively, we can weed out those boats we'll avoid as potentially dangerous because of the presence of domineering individuals with traits that have poor survival outcomes.

When The Little Prince hopscotches to various planets on his way to Earth, he encounters the King who desires a subject, a conceited man, a tippler (addict), a businessman who claims all the stars as his possessions and a lamplighter busy lighting and extinguishing the lamp every minute. These are parodies of human types, of course; The Little Prince found some modest favor in the lamplighter because he was the only one who was not self-obsessed / self-absorbed.

The boats I would avoid are those with wealthy, powerful people who confuse their position and wealth with competence, when actually there is no connection to competence beyond whatever specialized niche they used to acquire wealth and power. Their assumption (a form of privilege beneath the surface) that their specialized competence grants them universal competence is disastrously wrong-headed.

These are the types who will steer the lifeboat onto a reef despite the warnings of the less wealthy/powerful because their confidence in their judgment exceeds their grasp of risk/reality and their general life competence. They fail to understand the extreme narrowness of their experience and competence and have an overly high opinion of themselves due to their success in a narrow niche.

I would also avoid boats with individuals who triggered my BS detector, our intuitive animal assessment of the trustworthiness and self-absorption of individuals. For those who don't automatically filter out their negative assessments as "bad" and therefore "not allowed," this assessment is remarkably rapid and remarkably accurate.

Boats filled with self-important, self-absorbed people I would avoid as death traps. I would also avoid boats with do-gooders / would-be saints whose motivation (above self-preservation, until it's too late) is to defend the rights of the weak as the most important principle, even in life-and-death circumstances. These types are especially dangerous because their life experience is that Somebody Will Rescue Us. They thus conclude we can devote asymmetric resources to the weakest because Somebody Will Rescue Us.

They are incapable of recognizing the difference between making the vulnerable/dependent as comfortable as possible given the resources available and devoting the primary effort to saving everyone but if this can't be done, then saving as many people as possible. They are unable to recognize the need for difficult decisions that may well have asymmetric outcomes for the individuals on the boat. In demanding equal outcomes, they will lose everyone's lives--an outcome that is certainly equal but foolish.

Choosing a boat with an experienced open-ocean sailor is an obvious choice, as the sailor has experiential skills that apply specifically to the challenge at hand. But let's say that obvious choice means that boat is already filled to capacity.

So if the obvious best choice is not available, then what boat do we cast our lot with? I would look for a boat with low-key individuals with high situational awareness and experience in responding to crises and danger. Combat veterans come to mind, but there are many others with training and experience (or natural abilities) that aids their situational awareness, risk assessment and responses to rapidly evolving threats. The OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) is an example of this process.

I would also look for a boat with the increasingly rare individuals who do what they say they're going to do, and do it without self-obsessed drama/trauma or childish excuses. These individuals have a healthy awareness of their own limits and the limits of human nature. They don't overpromise to make themselves larger than they really are and they won't burden the rest of the boat with their self-absorbed histrionics or adolescent excuses.

Since I'm not qualified to lead as a sailor, and the only boat with an open-ocean sailor is full, I would look for a boat with a balance between hierarchy and self-expression/advocacy. The ideal situation is a boat in which every individual's advocacy of a particular action or strategy is carefully considered but the consensus reaches a decision and grants leadership to those with the best qualifications and most persuasive argument for their decision. Once the decision of a strategy has been made, then the boat unites behind pursuing this strategy.

It's instructive to consider the greatest open-ocean, open-boat voyages that have been recorded. Some had existing military hierarchies (for example, Captain Bligh's epic 4,000 mile voyage in a severely overloaded open launch) while others were castaways lacking a strict hierarchy. Whether the united effort of cooperation is imposed or agreed upon, this cooperation is key, as is a strategy based on the realities and risks.

Going it alone is a high-risk strategy. So is becoming dependent on self-important, self-absorbed people who are incapable of viewing reality as anything other than It's All About Me. I'm sure it's no surprise that the next five years will be risky and challenging; to the degree that we will be reliant on those closest to us, we are sharing a virtual lifeboat. Choose your boatmates carefully."

Gregory Mannarino, PM 4/30/21: “Stock Market Crash Ahead? The FED Warns, Now Sees ‘Excesses and Imbalances'”

Gregory Mannarino, PM 4/30/21: 
“Stock Market Crash Ahead? 
The FED Warns, Now Sees ‘Excesses and Imbalances'”
Related:
"This is banana republic level."

The Daily "Near You?"

Minden, Nevada, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Dog And Cat Diaries"

"DOG DIARY":

7:00 AM - "Outside! My favorite thing!
8:00 AM - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 AM - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 AM - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 AM - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 PM - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 PM - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
2:00 PM - Looked out the window and barked! My favorite thing!
3:00 PM - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
4:00 PM - Chased a bird out of the tree! My favorite thing!
5:00 PM - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
6:00 PM - Watched my people eat! My favorite thing!
6:20 PM - Table scraps! My favorite thing!
7:00 PM - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 PM - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 PM -Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!"
"CAT DIARY":

"Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. B*st*rds!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow - but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog continues to receive special privileges. He is regularly released and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded."
- Author Unknown

"If You Have Come..."

"If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time.
But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine,
then let us work together."
- 1970s Aboriginal activists group, Queensland

"No Tears for the Rich"

"No Tears for the Rich"
by Bill Bonner

"All governments use force and all assert that they are founded on reason. In fact, whether universal suffrage prevails or not, it is always an oligarchy that governs, finding ways to give to “the will of the people” that expression which the few desire."
– Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – “We the People are the government,” said Joe Biden in this week’s historic address to Congress. No truth alarms went off. But the big lie – that government = the people – is central to the whole flimflam of spending proposals unveiled in Biden’s discourse. Just to keep it simple: Some people govern… Others are governed. Some people owe… Some are owed. Some pay… Others are paid.

Here at the Diary headquarters, we take our verbs seriously. We govern no one but ourselves. But the Biden Administration – with the support and complicity of the bureaucracy, academia, a majority in Congress, the media, and Big Business – governs 330 million people. And with its armies and sanctions, it attempts to boss around hundreds of millions more.

Elite Scam: It was the great early-twentieth-century Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, who popularized the idea of an “elite.” It doesn’t matter what you call your government, he explained, there are always some who control it… and others who are controlled by it. Pareto is famous for the “80/20 principle” derived from his observation. Eighty percent of the work is done by 20% of the population. Eighty percent of the wealth is owned by 20% of the population. Etc.

But the 20% are not always the same people. The barrier between the elite and everyone else is not like a prison wall. It is more like a prison gate. There’s always a trickle of people coming and going under the watchful eye of the guards. And occasionally – in a revolution, war, or social collapse – the prison walls come down, as they did at the Bastille in 1789.

But the idea that “the people” govern is a fraud. And it is just one of many scams that help the real governors – the elite – remain in power. Today, we explore another one.

Back to Basics: This week, we saw how the Left Wing of the Deep State aims to get an almost permanent grip on the White House. It is going back to age-old basics. To bribery, that is Again, keeping it simple… Rich people have always used their wealth to get power. And powerful people use their power to get more wealth. (“The richest man in Rome,” Marcus Licinius Crassus, is often said to have bought his way into the triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey, for example. But he was also a competent military man, the hero of the Battle of the Colline Gate and of the Third Servile War. The latter was the war with Spartacus, in which Crassus raised an army at his own expense. After he put down the slave uprising, he crucified his 6,000 prisoners, leaving their rotting bodies along the Appian Way as a warning to others.)

Now in control of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, Team Biden aims to use it to get both more wealth and more power.

$4 Trillion Vote-Buying Scheme: The Democrats are already the party of the elite and “minorities.” But they need to recover at least some of their support among the working classes. Free college, free child care, more paid leave – 12 weeks! – more stimmy, along with new make-work jobs in “infrastructure”… The whole package will cost about $4.1 trillion ($2.3 trillion for the infrastructure plan and $1.8 trillion for the families plan)… but it might be enough to give the Democrats a lock on the White House for decades.

Tax the Rich: But how to pay for all this? Joe Biden proposes not only to give the masses more stuff, but to give them the pleasure of seeing “the rich” get squeezed. From CNBC: "Taxes may soon be going up for the wealthy. President Joe Biden aims to fund expanded education, child care, paid leave and other reforms by collecting more tax revenue from Americans who make more than $400,000 a year. He would do so by raising the top income and capital gains tax rates, changing the taxation of wealthy estates, closing so-called tax loopholes and focusing audits of the rich to prevent tax evasion."

And yes, the plan appeals to the masses. Here’s CNN: "About half of Americans who watched President Joe Biden's address to Congress had a very positive reaction to the speech, and 71% said they walked away feeling more optimistic about the country’s direction, according to a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS." But the Democrats are now the party of the rich. Are they going to allow the taxman to take a bite out of their own fat derrières? We have our doubts.

Tax increases will get no support from Republicans. And many Democrats are nervous about them, too. Already, they are reassuring their rich donors. The Washington Examiner: "The truth, in this case, is that the Democratic Party is currently “pushing a tax cut for the wealthy” by trying to get rid of the cap on state and local tax payment deductions, also known as SALT. […] The only people who would benefit from getting rid of the SALT deduction cap, which is currently set at $10,000 per family, are the wealthy. The average taxpayers who accept the standard deductions and pay less than $10,000 in state and local taxes would not be affected at all."

Elite Rule: What will happen? Most likely, taxes will go up. But while there will be big talk, few will want to walk the walk and really squeeze the rich with substantially higher taxes. And then, when the grandstanding is over… and the committees and tax policy wonks get to work…

"…on subsection 21(a) of Chapter 1031… Part D, as amended by Temporary Federal Statute # 105935, further updated by Tax Court ruling on January 21, Year of Our Lord, 2006, describing how amortization schedules for fully funded legacy accounts, created on or before the 32nd of February by the light of a full moon… are to be discounted…"

…the rich will still be in the 20% who rule… and the 80% will still be ruled. After all, it is the elite who write the laws. It is they who interpret and enforce the laws. And they know which side their bread is buttered on. So, Dear Reader, there’s no need to sob for the rich this weekend. They’ll be okay. But if the rich don’t pay, who will? Stay tuned…"