"The Eternal Silence..."



"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

"Sanctimania"

"Sanctimania"

by Jeff Thomas

"In recent decades, political correctness has been very much on the rise in the countries that were formerly regarded as the "free world." It’s important to remind those who live in these countries (North America, Europe, etc.), that political correctness is not by any means as prevalent in the rest of the world. In fact, the further removed a country is from the influence of the EU and US, the less prevalent political correctness is. The EU and US are, in fact, the epicentre of this movement… This is no accident.

So, should political correctness be forcibly controlled? Well, no. If someone wishes to adopt a belief, regardless of whether we find it silly, pointless, or even offensive, that should unquestionably be their right. But, is there a point at which political correctness becomes dangerous? Yes, decidedly so. It becomes dangerous when it becomes sanctimonious and aggressive – it then morphs into what I term "sanctimania."

Sanctimania can be defined as the point at which personal opinion encroaches upon the personal liberty of others; when the other person’s rights are aggressed upon or removed in the name of the opinion being expressed. Sanctimania is, by its very nature, the point at which anger overcomes reason and force is employed in order to achieve social change.

To be sure, the anger and intolerance that typify sanctimania, taken together, are a most powerful force. As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Anger and intolerance are the twin enemies of correct understanding."

Anger has a way of taking personal viewpoint to a destructive level. And, in fact, throughout history, we’ve seen political leaders repeatedly whipping their followers into anger in order to seize greater control. Certainly, this was true in virtually every speech given by Adolf Hitler. It was used extensively by Maximilien Robespierre following the French Revolution. And, not surprisingly, it has been employed in political demonstrations and riots throughout history.

Confucius, a fellow who had a reputation for careful reflection, said, "When anger rises, think of the consequences." A good point. It’s invariably true that no emotion has the ability to eliminate reason and self-control like anger. And this, of course, is why political leaders so often seek to create anger amongst their followers – so that they can be trained to do the bidding of the leaders without questioning either the validity of their actions or the consequences.

Well, what, then, are the benefits of this anger? Does it achieve its end? Does it typically convert or defeat the adversary? Let’s query Buddha on that one. "Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." Quite so. Of course, Buddha was referring to the consequence upon the person who is angry, not the consequence upon the person who inspired him to anger. The person who inspired the anger is not harmed at all.

So, is there a difference between anger and sanctimania? Most decidedly so. Sanctimania is a refinement of anger. It’s the better tool for political leaders seeking to control their followers. Any political leader wishes to create in the minds of his followers a separation of opinion. He creates rhetoric that’s intended to set his followers apart from others. That rhetoric is intended to have the appearance of a moral high ground. Once the followers believe that they’re morally apart from others – once they’ve reached the stage of sanctimony, they’ve fallen under the control of the leader. Whether he’s Vladimir Lenin, George Patton or Jim Jones, both the purpose and the method are the same.

And it’s important to state that it doesn’t matter whether the sanctimonial intolerance comes from the political left or right, although there can be no question that collectivist leaders have historically made greater use of it.

But sanctimania takes the rhetoric to the final stage. Whether it’s as minor as beating up someone for being a ginger in the UK, or whether it’s stoning a woman to death for the crime of infidelity, as in Leviticus, 20:10, sanctimania represents the power of the leader to control the aggression of the follower without question; without reason. Quite a powerful political tool.

At present, we’re viewing this phenomenon as an extension to political correctness. Whereas ten years ago we might have seen a man being reviled for making a sexual advance to a female co-worker, or using a pejorative with regard to someone of a different race or ethnic background, we’re increasingly seeing these "crimes" elevated to the point that punishment is being called for.

The buzzwords are familiar to us all – racist, sexist, homophobic, fascist, hate, etc. It matters little whether the person being attacked is actually "guilty" of the entire list. If he’s identified as being objectionable for any reason, he’s then tarred with the entire list. Conversely, if another individual has been accepted within the group, should he actually be guilty of any of these "crimes," this fact is ignored. He’s a "good" person.

Historically, Jews have been made the target of Christians and vice-versa. Blacks have been made the target of whites and vice versa. Conservatives have been made the target of liberals and vice versa.

Whenever in history political leaders have used the media to create a campaign against a given group or groups, the objective has been to create sanctimania as a vehicle by which increased control may be implemented. In the eye of the leader, it truly has nothing to do with one group being superior to the other. (In fact, the group could be chosen at random and the outcome would be the same.) The objective is to create alienation.

Whether we assess Fidel Castro in his frenzied all-day speeches against the greedy capitalists, the Ayatollah Khomeini railing against infidels, or Al Gore creating fear of global warming from nothing, what we’re witnessing is a leader creating sanctimania. When we see large demonstrations of people with placards aggressing against others in reaction to such rhetoric, we’re witnessing the intended product of sanctimania.

But, if we’re able to step back a bit and take a deep breath, we’ll hopefully remind ourselves not to fall into the trap of taking the opposing view of the sanctimaniacs just because we find their behavior offensive. Instead, we’ll hopefully remove ourselves from the field of rhetoric entirely and reach our conclusions through objective reasoning. This is not just a helpful lesson in objectivity - it’s a survival technique, as, historically, periods of sanctimania are often followed by periods of great unrest.

Once sanctimania results in general chaos, the objectivity that we’d practiced may well determine whether we will become casualties of sanctimania or whether we’ll quietly remove ourselves from the fray."

- internationalman.com

"In All Seriousness..."

"Thomas Edison said in all seriousness: "There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the labor of thinking"- if we bother with facts at all, we hunt like bird dogs after the facts that bolster up what we already think- and ignore all the others! We want only the facts that justify our acts- the facts that fit in conveniently with our wishful thinking and justify our preconceived prejudices. As Andre Maurois put it: "Everything that is in agreement with our personal desires seems true. Everything that is not puts us into a rage." Is it any wonder, then, that we find it so hard to get at the answers to our problems? Wouldn't we have the same trouble trying to solve a second-grade arithmetic problem, if we went ahead on the assumption that two plus two equals five? Yet there are a lot of people in this world who make life a hell for themselves and others by insisting that two plus two equals five - or maybe five hundred!"

- Dale Carnegie

Must View! "Get Ready for the Earthquake"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 1/2/23:

"Get Ready for the Earthquake"

"It is absolutely unbelievable how many earthquakes we have had in the last few days. This is a great metaphor for how people need to prepare for what’s coming in 2023. We’ve been given an earthquake warning for California. A major earthquake could strike northern California at any time."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com

“What’s The Root Cause Of The US Proxy War in Ukraine? Most People Don’t Have A Clue. Let Me Explain”

“What’s The Root Cause Of The US Proxy War in Ukraine? 

Most People Don’t Have A Clue. Let Me Explain”

by Kim Dotcom

"What’s the root cause of the US proxy war in Ukraine? Most people don’t have a clue. Let me explain.

It all started after the 2007-2008 financial crisis that originated in the US. The reliability of the US Govt as a partner in global financial affairs was destroyed. In 2009 Russia hosted the first BRICS summit to establish a better international financial system with China, India, Brazil, South Africa and later with future BRICS+ partners. In short a new “multipolar order”. BRICS is challenging the US Dollar reserve currency status.

That started a new Cold War with Russia and China. US National Debt is now at $31 trillion, total US Debt is at $92 trillion and total US unfunded liabilities are at $172 trillion and all of that without any US Govt surplus to pay for any of it. Only more debt and money printing.

The US Govt knows that without the reserve currency status it is bankrupt. Without money printing on the backs of other nations it’s simply Game Over for the US. But not just for the US. The EU and most western democracies followed the US model of endless Debt and money printing.

That’s why they stand with the US and support the escalating actions that seem totally illogical to most people. Why is the EU sacrificing prosperity for a US proxy war in Ukraine? Because if the US is collapsing they collapse too. Their alliance is glued by the fear of failure. BRICS+ was on track to launch its new global financial system by 2030. Ukraine is the tool for conflict with Russia and Taiwan is the tool for conflict with China. Eventually the US and NATO will be at war with Russia and China. They simply don’t seem to have another choice.

It’s either war with Russia and China to stop BRICS+ or the financial collapse of the US, EU and the entire debt and money printing circus. It was never about the people of Ukraine. Ukraine is a sideshow. The main event is yet to come. The two options are poverty or nuclear war."

- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

o

Related:

Full screen recommended.

"Douglas Macgregor: Urgent ! 

Americans Need To Understand This!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

"Scott Ritter: Russian Masterplan In Kiev!

 This Targeted Operation Will Blow Your Mind"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Lyons, Oregon, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

The Poet: Theodore Roethke, “The Return”

“The Return”

“Suddenly the window will open

and Mother will call,

it's time to come in.

The wall will part,

I will enter heaven in muddy shoes.

I will come to the table

and answer questions rudely.

I am all right, leave me

alone. Head in hand I

sit and sit. How can I tell them

about that long

and tangled way?

Here in heaven mothers

knit green scarves;

flies buzz.

Father dozes by the stove

after six days' labor.

No - surely I can't tell them

that people are at each

other's throats.”

- Theodore Roethke

“The History of the Middle Finger”

“The History of the Middle Finger”

by pappy

“Well, now… here’s something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified.

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as ‘plucking the yew’ (or ‘pluck yew’).

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and they began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, “See, we can still pluck yew!” Since ‘pluck yew’ is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentalfricative ‘F’, and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as ‘giving the bird.’”

- http://pappys-rants.blogspot.com/

"Waiting..."

“Life passes like a flash of lightning, whose blaze barely lasts long enough to see. While the earth and sky stand still forever, how swiftly changing time flies across man’s face. O you who sit over your full cup and do not drink, tell me – for whom are you still waiting?”

- Hermann Hesse

"Consider The Following..."

"Consider the following. We humans are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others' actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others' activities. For this reason it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.

Nor is it so remarkable that our greatest joy should come when we are motivated by concern for others. But that is not all. We find that not only do altruistic actions bring about happiness but they also lessen our experience of suffering. Here I am not suggesting that the individual whose actions are motivated by the wish to bring others' happiness necessarily meets with less misfortune than the one who does not. Sickness, old age, mishaps of one sort or another are the same for us all. But the sufferings which undermine our internal peace- anxiety, doubt, disappointment- these things are definitely less. In our concern for others, we worry less about ourselves. When we worry less about ourselves an experience of our own suffering is less intense.

What does this tell us? Firstly, because our every action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on others' happiness, ethics are necessary as a means to ensure that we do not harm others. Secondly, it tells us that genuine happiness consists in those spiritual qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness and so on. For it is these which provide both for our happiness and others' happiness. A good motivation is what is needed: compassion without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their human rights and dignities. That we humans can help each other is one of our unique human capacities"

- Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

"How It Really Is"

 

"The Year When Everything Started To Fall Apart"

"The Year When Everything Started To Fall Apart"

by Michael Snyder

"It amazes me that so many people still cannot understand what is happening. 2022 was supposedly going to be a year when America entered a new golden age of prosperity, but that didn’t happen. Instead, it was a complete and utter disaster. Stock prices fell by the most that we have seen since 2008, the cryptocurrency industry came apart at the seams, inflation soared to absurd heights, and home sales just kept declining all throughout the year. Without a doubt, 2022 represented a major turning point. Americans have already collectively lost trillions of dollars, and many experts are telling us that 2023 will be even worse.

We warned over and over again that the party on Wall Street would eventually come to a very bitter end, but most people didn’t want to listen. Well, the party has now ended, and the stock market losses that we have witnessed over the past 12 months have been absolutely staggering…"As of closing time on Friday evening, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by nearly 3,500 points since the start of the year, a 9.4 percent drop.

The S&P 500 was also down by 957 points this year, with the tech-heavy index falling by almost 20 percent, capping off a brutal year for the tech industry. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq sunk by more than 5,600 points, a nearly 34 percent decline in 2022. More than a third of the entire value of the Nasdaq is already gone. Just think about that.

Of course some stocks were hit much harder than others. Tesla is down about 70 percent from the peak, and Elon Musk “has become the first person ever to lose $200 billion from his net worth”…"Tesla CEO and Chief Twit Elon Musk has become the first person ever to lose $200 billion from his net worth, according to a Bloomberg report.

Musk, 51, previously became the second person ever to amass a fortune of more than $200 billion in January 2021, after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Musk has now seen his wealth drop to $137 billion following a recent drop in Tesla shares. Musk saw his fortune peak in November 2021, hitting $340 billion, and held the title of the world’s richest person up until last month. Musk was ultimately toppled off the throne by Bernard Arnault, the CEO of French luxury giant LVMH."

You have to give him credit for holding up so well under the circumstances. 200 billion dollars is an amount of money that is so large that it is almost unimaginable.

Facebook also got monkey-hammered over the course of 2022. At this point, Facebook stock has fallen over 64 percent from where it was last January…"On the last day of trading this year, Meta’s stock was down more than 64 percent compared to January, with prices sinking from over $338-per-share to now $120-per-share. The company has lost more than $600 billion in valuation as it spend billions to make its controversial leap to virtual reality with its Metaverse, with the efforts continuing to come up short."

Perhaps Facebook shouldn’t have put so much effort into banning and censoring millions of their best users. What an incredibly stupid thing to do. When I go on Facebook these days, it just feels so incredibly dead. There are still a few diehard users hanging around, but overall it is just a pathetic hollow shell of a social media platform at this point.

Speaking of implosions, 2022 was an absolute disaster for the cryptocurrency industry. The following summary of what we witnessed over the past 12 months comes from Zero Hedge…"Among all the chaos and downfall of many crypto exchanges and leading venture capital firms, the biggest losers are crypto investors. If the burn of the bear market was not enough, millions of crypto investors who had their funds on FTX lost their life savings overnight.

Terra was once a $40 billion ecosystem. Its native token, LUNA — now known as Terra Classic (LUNC) — was one of the top five biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. With millions of customers invested in the ecosystem, the collapse brought their investment to zero within hours. After the Terra collapse, crypto investors lost their funds on a series of centralized exchanges and staking platforms like Celsius, BlockFi and Hodlnaut. Crypto investors also lost significantly in the nonfungible token market, with the price of many popular collections down by 70%. Overall, crypto investors are among the biggest losers of the year."

The total value of all cryptocurrencies exceeded 3 trillion dollars at the peak of the market. Now the total value of all cryptocurrencies has fallen to less than 1 trillion dollars. Hopefully you got out before the crash happened.

2022 was also a year when we experienced very painful inflation. Food prices, energy prices and vehicle prices all went completely nuts, and many compared what we were going through to the Jimmy Carter era of the 1970s. But this shouldn’t have been a surprise to any of us. Starting in 2020, our leaders absolutely flooded the system with new cash and the size of the money supply absolutely exploded.

Increasing the size of the money supply so dramatically was inevitably going to cause prices to go haywire, and anyone that thought otherwise was just not being rational. In a desperate attempt to fight the inflation monster that they helped to create, officials at the Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates throughout much of 2022.

As a result, we now find ourselves in the midst of another horrifying housing crash. Home values are now steadily receding all over the nation, and home sales have been falling month after month. Home sales have already fallen by more than a third.

How much lower can they possibly go? I don’t know, but we are being warned to brace ourselves for more hard times ahead. In fact, even the IMF is publicly admitting that “the worst is yet to come”… “The worst is yet to come, and for many people 2023 will feel like a recession,” the IMF said in October, noting the slowdown “will be broad-based” and may “reopen economic wounds that were only partially healed post-pandemic.”

If only they knew. We aren’t just heading into a temporary economic downturn. Ultimately, the entire system is starting to fall apart all around us, and the years ahead are going to be incredibly challenging. Our leaders have been making mistake after mistake for decades, and now we get to pay the price. So buckle up and hold on tight, because 2023 is not going to be pleasant at all."

- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "Markets, A Look Ahead: New 'Effective' Variant; More Fear! More Control And Propaganda!"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 1/2/23:

"Markets, A Look Ahead: New 'Effective' Variant; 

More Fear! More Control And Propaganda!"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Economic Market Snapshot 1/2/23"

"Economic Market Snapshot 1/2/23"

Market Data Center, Live Updates:

- https://www.marketwatch.com/market-data 

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Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...

Only the consequences are real - to you!

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- https://www.asktraders.com/analysis/

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A comprehensive, essential daily read.

- http://www.shadowstats.com/

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Financial Stress Index

"The OFR Financial Stress Index (OFR FSI) is a daily market-based snapshot of stress in global financial markets. It is constructed from 33 financial market variables, such as yield spreads, valuation measures, and interest rates. The OFR FSI is positive when stress levels are above average, and negative when stress levels are below average. The OFR FSI incorporates five categories of indicators: credit, equity valuation, funding, safe assets and volatility. The FSI shows stress contributions by three regions: United States, other advanced economies, and emerging markets."

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- https://www.dailyjobcuts.com/

Job cuts and much more.

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- https://www.zerohedge.com/

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- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

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- https://wallstreetonparade.com/

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- https://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

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- https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/

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Commentary, highly recommended:

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

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"The more I see of the monied classes,

the better I understand the guillotine."

- George Bernard Shaw

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Oh yeah... beyond words. Any I know anyway...

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And now... The End Game...

"Massive Price Increases At Walmart! This Is Crazy! What's Next!?

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 1/2/23"

"Massive Price Increases At Walmart!

 This Is Crazy! What's Next!?

"In today's vlog we are at Walmart and are noticing massive price increases! We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and a lot of empty shelves! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com

o

"American’s Are Financially Hurting 

And Will Be Tipped Over The Cliff"

Jim Kunstler, "Questions and Answers"

"Questions and Answers"

by Jim Kunstler

“Reality must take precedence over public relations,

 for nature cannot be fooled.” - Richard Feynman

"The exhausting toils of the holidays are behind us; the mischief that could be done by the lame ducks in Congress has been done ($1.7 trillion Omnibus Spending Bill); and the time has come for the citizens of this land to get some answers about the escalating trips laid on them by their own government. The House of Representatives is in new hands. You’ll know in pretty short order whether they are capable, trustworthy hands, or just a blur of fast fingers running another three-card-monte table.

The most pressing questions abide around justice, and the gavel of the Judiciary Committee passes from the barely-alive Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) to the very animated Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). He needs to ask FBI Director Chris Wray how it came to be that the Bureau sat in possession of the Hunter Biden laptop during the impeachment of January 2020 and did not offer up to the defense the exculpatory evidence it abundantly contained in the way of business deal memos between the Biden family and officials in several foreign lands, Ukraine in particular. After all, the impeachment hinged on a telephone inquiry Mr. Trump made about just those matters. Was there anything to it all, or not? Obviously, there was, and Mr. Wray’s conduct looks like obstruction of justice in the highest degree.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) comes in as chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. He announced months ago that he would hold hearings on interesting issues such Hunter Biden’s taxes and exactly who paid to support his new career as an “artist.”

We’ve got national security concerns with respect to Hunter Biden. We want to know if you remember who bought that expensive artwork when he was an artist for about three days and sold the artwork for half a million dollars. We want to know why the Russian oligarchs who paid Hunter Biden money were mysteriously left off the sanctions list when Joe Biden started putting sanctions on Russians and Russian oligarchs. We’ve got a lot of questions about shady business dealings that Hunter had and whether or not they impacted the Biden administration.

Next Mr. Wray has to answer for the FBI’s infiltration of social media. How did the top lawyer at the FBI, Jim Baker, come to be employed as the right-hand to Twitter’s chief censor, Vijaya Gadde? How did all those former FBI agents land at the company along with Jim Baker, and what did Mr. Wray have to do with the FBI demands to censor news and persons on matters of critical national importance such as vaccine safety and election fraud? How did more than a hundred former federal agents land on Facebook, Google, and other platforms? How did Mr. Wray decide to shut down the avenues of the First Amendment to the Constitution?

Next up: Attorney General Merrick Garland. On what grounds are pre-trial January 8 Riot suspects being held in the decrepit DC federal lockup without bail on rinky-dink charges two years after the event? How does that square with American due process of law? What did he know about the existence of the Hunter Biden laptop and the evidence it contained? What is he doing about it? How did Mr. Garland happen to target for prosecution parents protesting school board policies on race and sexual matters? Of course, Mr. Garland is going to evade answering by using the ploy that all this “pertains to ongoing investigations.” Mr. Jordan had better hire a chief counsel with some brains to penetrate that bodyguard of lies.

If the Special Subcommittee on the January 6 Riot is disbanded, turn the matter over to the Andy Biggs’ Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Let’s hear from Nancy Pelosi’s staff as to how come her office (of the Speaker) turned down offers from the Trump White House for national guard protection that day. Let’s also hear from the then-chief of the Capitol Police, Steven Sund, who resigned from that job two days later - in consternation or disgrace? Bring back Mr. Wray and Mr. Garland. How many federal agents were circulating in the crowd the night before and day of the January 6 riot? Why was one Ray Epps never indicted for his much-recorded incitements to enter the Capitol? Who opened the magnetically-locked doors from the inside of the building? Stuff like that. What was the decision process for not charging officer Michael Byrd in the shooting death of Ashli Babbitt?

I hope its not too impertinent to suppose that the January 6 Riot was engineered by our government to embarrass and punish its political opponents - taking advantage of the First Amendment “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” which was what that crowd had come to do in Washington DC that day. Interesting how a little tweaking here and there turned that into a convenient fiasco. And how government control and interference over social media and corporate news was used to reinforce the narrative that the event was “an insurrection” - one of many actual “big lies” of our time nurtured by our government against its citizens.

A few other inquiries in this new Congress to commence ASAP: Can we hear from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as to how come the US-Mexican Border is absolutely wide open; why his employees are transporting illegal aliens all around the USA; why he is running a program in Mexico to give Venezuelans and other select alien nationals “advanced authorization” and “two years parole,” then sneaking them into the USA through regular ports-of-entry?

Then there is the enormous looming storm-cloud of questions over Covid-19: the origin of it; the botched trials of the mRNA “vaccines;” the conduct of the emergency in 2020 by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx, and many others, including the two principals hiding in the shadows for three years, epidemiologist Ralph Baric of the University of North Carolina, and Peter Daszak of the EcoHealth alliance; the demonization of early treatment protocols with safe and FDA-approved Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine; the relation of all that to the Emergency Use Authorization that protects the pharma companies from liability; the fudging of numbers and scrapping of web pages containing incriminating data at the CDC under Rochelle Walensky; the rising cases of disability and death now presenting via insurance company statistics in the absence of agency reporting; and, again, the coercion of social media platforms to conform to official narratives about the so-called pandemic. (Was it really?)

Then there’s all the darkness surrounding Ukraine, our 51st state, as measured by the amount of taxpayer money funneled into it…. A lot of someones got a lot of ‘splainin’ to do about a lot of things in the weeks and months ahead. We’ll be a better country when we start getting some answers."

- https://kunstler.com/

"I, Santos"

"I, Santos"

Introducing the perfect man for Congress...

by Bill Bonner

Youghal, Ireland - "As every sentient biped now knows, Mr. George Santos lied to get himself elected to Congress. The poor man is now the butt of jokes for standup comics all over the country. He provides the Democrats with evidence – if any more were needed – that Republicans can’t be trusted….while distracting the public from their own agenda, which is ruining the country.

But here at Bonner Private Research, we judge not. We just keep our eyes and ears open. We don’t really care about George Santos, but we’re very curious about the system of government that selects a low-life hustler like him as a decider. In the interest of understanding better how our democracy really works, we let him explain himself:

Trust Me, I’m Lying: “Alright. So, I lied. Big whoop. I said I graduated from Baruch College. I never actually set foot in the school. I said I went to the prestigious Horace Mann prep school. Nope. I said my grandparents were holocaust survivors. They were not. I said I worked for Goldman Sachs. I never did. I said I was Jewish. Then, I clarified. I was ‘Jew-ish,’ but not a Jew. I said I was ‘half-Black’, Ukrainian…and lost employees in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting. None of those things are true. I said my mother died on 9/11. (She was shocked to hear it! She didn’t die until 15 years later.)

Somehow, I went from being penniless in 2020….to having millions of dollars to spend on my campaign in 2022. I claimed to own apartment buildings….and made money by selling used yachts. I was the key man in a hedge fund. Of course, there is more to that story….and I’m sure it will come out in due time.

After a 7-year marriage to a woman I realized I was gay…and now have a ‘husband’…which you can take any way you want.

And so now the press – which asked almost no questions when I was running for office – is having fun catching me up in what must seem like an almost never-ending series of falsehoods. The public is appalled. The voters say they were “deceived.” And the media is feeling proud of itself…for “unmasking” a Republican fraudster.

But there is more to the story. And I’m grateful to Bonner Private Research for giving me a chance to tell it. After all, to accuse a politician of lying is like accusing a prostitute of being unchaste. Of course, he lies. That is just the nature of his work. Imagine the candidate who didn’t lie. The voters would want nothing to do with him:

I have to tell you that if I’m elected I won’t make any of you richer. You have to do that yourself. And if I, as a member of Congress, slip a little earmark into the budget so someone gets public money, it just means we’ll have to take it from someone else. Or, if I vote for a program where the feds ‘do something’ for you, it will have to be done at your own expense. The federal government has no money…and no power…that doesn’t come from you.

I’m not going to build a house for you. I’m not going to plant cabbages or raise cattle to lower your food costs. I’m not going to teach your children. Or lower the price of gasoline. And I can’t make you any healthier either. You know how to do that. Just don’t eat so much, exercise…and so forth.

And the Ukraine? Are you serious? As near as I can tell it’s just an excuse to send more of your money to Pentagon contractors and neocon think tanks. So, if you want your government to give you something, or to do something for you, vote for the other guy.

Big F**king Deal: That candidate would be quickly consigned to the graveyard of political careers. Because he wouldn’t give the voters what they want. Then, what good could he do?

I, on the other hand, was practically born for Congress. I got elected. That proves it. Yes, I embellished my resume. Big F**king Deal. The important thing is that I’m a good liar…practiced…and confident. I can make connections with the voters, by telling them what they want to hear. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

So what if I didn’t have grandparents who were Holocaust survivors; that’s not my fault. And what if I didn’t really go to Horace Mann; my parents couldn’t afford the $60,000/yr tuition; so what? So what if I wasn’t always gay; what business is it of anyone else?

Compare those lies to the trillion-dollar fibs embedded in the New Deal, the Great Society, the War to Make the World Safe for Democracy, Make America Great Again, the War on Terror. My lies are harmless…and more important, free. They cost the voters nothing. I only lie about myself.

But wait. They show that George Santos is untrustworthy…that he is a rascal. Yes, of course they do. But those are just the threshold qualifications for a Member of Congress; I passed the entry test with flying colors. And now…throw him out because he lies? If you were to apply that test, how many politicians would survive?”

(Santos is right. The lies that matter are those that involve spending other people’s money…squandering the nation’s wealth…and turning its people into dependent numbskulls. Since press reports have exclusively focused on the lies that don’t matter, we know nothing about his lies that do matter. He is said to be a disciple of Donald Trump, so we assume he is a cretin. But giving him the benefit of the doubt…. his policy predilections may be no worse than the other 534 benighted scoundrels on Capitol Hill.)

Decent Dishonesty: “Am I really worse than the others,” Santos asks. “Yes, in a sense…my lies are more obvious and more disprovable. But they are the kind of lies that reveal the truth…they help ‘The People’ see the real nature of their political system. And it might inoculate them against the real liars.

Suppose I, rather than Colin Powell, had stood before the world and made the fraudulent ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ accusation. Who would have believed me? The US might have been spared the Iraq War. And suppose I had been on watch last week, when Congress voted on the $1.7 trillion, 4,000+ page budget bill. Maybe my endorsement would have been enough to make New York Times reporters wonder what was in it.

And who better than I to rise to my feet and applaud that showman Zelenskyy, in his preposterous military get-up? It takes one to know one. And if I had made the case for military aid to the Ukraine, the war might have ended 6 months ago. Last year, the Ukraine got $120 billion – twice as much as the whole Russian defense budget. Anyone who looked into the affair for more than a minute knows that the whole thing – like WWI, Vietnam, or the War on Terror – is a deadly scam.

That’s why having recognized liars in Congress is so important. It helps remind the press and the voters to ask questions. And the questions bring out the truth. And I, Santos, can make it happen. I am the liar who lets the truth out of the bag. I am also what the voters want. I am gay. I am straight. I am a Jew. And a Catholic. I am a Trump man…and an LGBTQ+ representative. I am a conservative; I’m a liberal. I am Black. I am Ukrainian. I am a Republican…and ready to support any fool cause the voters want. Do they want Green Energy? They got it! Do they want to bomb the Russkies back to the stone age? I’m their man. Do they want more stimmies? More unemployment toppers? More fake money at more fake interest rates?

I’m the guy they want. The perfect Member of Congress. With something for everyone…and nothing for everybody.”

- bonnerprivateresearch@substack.com

Bank Panic and Bank Runs"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 1/1/23:

"Bank Panic and Bank Runs"

"People in Russia starting to freak out. They are lining up at the bank to get money out. The ATMs are closing and they are worried about getting cash and their pensions being funded."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"China Entering WW3: In 30 Days Everything Changes"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 1/1/23:

"China Entering WW3: In 30 Days Everything Changes"

"I make an error in this video in mentioning the election as triggering Nov 2021 economic downturn, of course this was not the election year. The cause of the downturn was likely the conflict that would start in early 2022 and the feds interest rate hikes."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Housing Crash Begins As US Housing Market Enters 2023 In A Massive Bubble"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist 1/1/23:

"Housing Crash Begins As US Housing Market 

Enters 2023 In A Massive Bubble"

"If you’re waiting for a housing market crash so that home prices become affordable again, analysts say you won’t have to wait that long. The market is expected to spiral downward this year as a series of indicators suggest that more trouble is ahead. Experts warn that the free-fall has already begun, and we’re now witnessing eerily similar circumstances to the 2008 disaster.

From December 2021 to December 2022, housing affordability has plunged by almost a third. That explains why single-family home sales fell for the 11th straight month. Even Warren Buffett’s favorite metric suggests that a major reversal is underway. The Berkshire Hathaway Inc CEO once explained that one of the key metrics he watches for a downturn in the housing market is a reduction of housing starts. With more and more Americans being turned off by high mortgage rates and builders being forced to cut back, construction on new homes declined by almost 6.5% from October levels, and 4.1% from November levels, and this trend will likely continue through 2023. Compared to the same time last year, housing starts actually dropped by 9%.

But still, the boom in construction seen in 2021 and in the first two quarters of 2022 is about to inundate the market with new supply, and that’s the perfect recipe for crashing prices, says David I. Kranzler from investing.com. Another breathtaking contraction in housing prices is just a matter of time, Krenzler stresses. Although the lending abuses that occurred in the run-up to the last bubble haven’t been repeated, the economic reality for millions of Americans remains undeniably stark, the expert notes. We don’t have mortgage-backed securities anymore, but the housing market is rapidly freezing right now. Fewer buyers are willing to commit to new purchases due to the higher monthly payments while fewer sellers are willing to list their homes in a weakening market, particularly considering that declining prices could mean taking a loss.

Put it together, affordability is plunging, mortgage costs are going through the roof, and a flood of newly built homes is about to enter the market, vastly increasing supply. It goes without saying that this is a very dangerous combination. The risks of a real estate collapse continue to mount, and a series of stocks will also suffer, just as we saw during the last crash. “That’s because consumers have so much of their wealth tied to their homes,” Kranzler explains. “The bottom line is that the housing market is in serious trouble. So it’s imperative to protect your portfolio from another “Lehman moment.”

The fact that many real estate companies are already in deep financial trouble further proves that the housing market meltdown is already upon us. At the same time, in the past quarter, investor home purchases also plummeted by 30%. Homebuilders are also being impacted by this tighter environment. Cancellation rates have accelerated during the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter, jumping to over 20% from 13% in the previous quarter.

The housing market crash is just starting to build momentum. If we observe the sizable decline in existing home sales in November – 7.7% from October on a seasonally adjusted basis and the 35.4% plunge year-over-year, we can clearly see that conditions are deteriorating alarmingly fast. That actually marked the biggest yearly decline since autumn 2008. Officials say that conditions are different this time around. And that may be partially true. But unfortunately, the result is going to be the same."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Disturbed "The Sound Of Silence"

Full screen recommended.

Disturbed, "The Sound Of Silence", Live version.

Singer David Draiman

134 million views.

Full screen recommended.

Disturbed, "The Sound Of Silence", Release version.

Singer David Draiman

867 million views.