"The Hour Is Late"

"The Hour Is Late"

by Michael Snyder

"We are running out of time, but most people are still dead asleep. I have to admit that I am really struggling with how to say what I need to share in this article. I have been up against some real challenges in recent days, but the vast majority of my readers didn’t know that anything was different because I have just continued to pump out content on the websites. Of course we all face challenges in life, and there are many that are facing far greater challenges than I have been facing. The phrase “remember Job” has been repeatedly coming to mind throughout this time, and there is so much that we can all learn from that story. When great challenges come, there are often very important lessons that we can learn from them, and an entirely new chapter may await us on the other side of those challenges.

In this article I am going to share with you some of the things that I have been sharing with people privately. Prior to sitting down, I spent some time walking around in the chilly mountain air outside. I wanted to clear my head and organize my thoughts before I began writing. Unlike in our major urban areas, the air is crisp and clean here, and I will never get tired of the view. We live in a truly beautiful world, but unfortunately many of us take the beauty of nature for granted.

Many of you probably expected me to write an article about the latest mass shooter. That is the “big story” that everyone is talking about, but the truth is that it isn’t really that important. There was a mass shooting last week, and there will inevitably be more mass shootings in the days ahead. We live at a time when mass shootings have become commonplace, and that is because we live in a deeply broken society. In 2020, the number of mass shootings was almost 50 percent higher than it was in 2019. And since we are off to a brisk start this year, the final number for 2021 will almost certainly be even higher.

The Democrats are going to politicize this latest tragedy and use it as an opportunity to push their gun control agenda, and conservatives will freak out about that. But these short-term political battles are not where our focus should be right now.

For a very long time, many of us have been warning about things that are coming. But now we are transitioning into a period when the time for warning will be over because so many of the things that we have been warning about will actually be happening.

Of course you could say that we have already been in such a time since the beginning of 2020. The COVID pandemic continues to sweep across the globe, the entire world is wrestling with severe economic problems, civil unrest continues to rage in our major cities and our planet is becoming increasing unstable. I covered many of the things that we are currently facing in an article entitled “7 ‘Plagues’ That Are Hitting Our Planet Right Now” that went viral on Zero Hedge.

But as bad as conditions are at the moment, I believe that they will soon get a lot worse. In fact, I believe that we have entered a time when global events will accelerate dramatically. Now that Joe Biden is in the White House, a lot of people are crying “peace and safety”, but they aren’t going to get “peace and safety”.

The next few months are a time to be watchful. In particular, I have been privately telling people to watch Israel for anything “unusual” that happens. If you learn of something extremely unusual that happens over there that you don’t think I know about yet, please write to me. Way too often there are extremely important events that take place that the mainstream media never covers. So if history changing events take place in the weeks or months ahead, that doesn’t mean that the mainstream media will cover them.

In addition to watching Israel like a hawk, let us also keep our eyes on the Biden administration. Joe Biden is not all there mentally, and the warmongers that he has surrounded himself with are pushing us toward conflicts with Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. There are multiple places around the globe where war could break out, but let us hope that war can be put off for as long as possible. Once war does finally break out, it will greatly intensify the economic problems that we are already facing.

I know that many of you are very eager for me to release my next book. "Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America" has been ranking very well on the Amazon charts for many months, and it is literally waking people up all over the globe. My next book will also examine coming events which will greatly shake the world as we know it today, but I can’t publish it yet. I feel that things that are about to happen will be absolutely critical to the message of the book, and so I need to wait and watch during this season.

I believe that we will soon see historic events take place which will literally change everything. Needless to say, many others also believe that 2021 will be a critical turning point as well. But ultimately even “2021” is just an artificial man-made construct.

Do you want to know who decided that the year would start on January 1st? It was the Romans. And why should our days start at midnight? That is an artificial man-made construct as well. Just because something has been handed down to us from previous generations does not mean that we have to blindly accept it.

Many of you will have read this article on Wednesday. Did you know that the name “Wednesday” actually comes from an ancient pagan god? "Wednesday is “Wōden’s day.” Wōden, or Odin, was the ruler of the Norse gods’ realm and associated with wisdom, magic, victory and death. The Romans connected Wōden to Mercury because they were both guides of souls after death. “Wednesday” comes from Old English “Wōdnesdæg.”

When you start to learn about the lies that we have inherited, it will open your eyes to a whole new world. Of course most people never stop to question why things are the way that they are. Sadly, most people just mindlessly absorb whatever the system tells them to believe, and as a result we have vast hordes of vacuous “sheeple” populating our society today.

The good news is that millions of them will soon be shaken out of their slumber by the apocalyptic events that are coming. It will be a rude awakening, but that is certainly preferable to never waking up at all."

- http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/the-hour-is-late/

Greg Hunter, "Weekly News Wrap-Up 3/26/2021"

"Weekly News Wrap-Up 3/26/2021"

by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

"Just about everything we have been told about Covid is a lie or lies by omission. We are told the Vaccine is the only way to beat Covid. We are also told there are no other treatments available. Those are lies. We are not told that the so-called vaccine is “experimental” and that all these so-called vaccines were only approved on an emergency basis. We are not told that these vaccines permanently alter your DNA with genetic engineering and that vaccine manufacturers have zero liability if you are permanently injured or die from a shot. Also, manufacturers of these so-called vaccines and the medical community have no idea what the effects will be in the short or long term. This makes what is going on today around America, with vaccine centers to push an unproven medical test, a huge reckless risk. Instead of giving the public actual information for “informed consent,” an idea that came out of the 1947 Nurnberg trials of Nazis, we have what I call “misinformed consent” based on lies, fraud and fear. The Nazis would be proud.

YouTube has taken down another lifesaving video about the “wonder drug” called Ivermectin. This is an anti-viral drug that is decades old. It’s been proven safe with little downside risk when treating and preventing Covid19. Dr. Pierre Kory testified in the Senate about repurposing Ivermectin and the “mountains of evidence showing the miraculous effectiveness of Ivermectin.” The public is not allowed to hear alternatives to experimental vaccines. As I said last week, debates and alternative scientific information is NOT allowed. YouTube has taken down the Senate testimony of Dr. Kory (But you can watch it here) to censor any and all scientific alternatives to vaccines.

The economy is getting better - NOT. Another 684,000 initial unemployment claims were reported this week. Some financial experts are excited because it was not more than 700,000 claims. Not what I would consider a cause for celebration. Also, a huge cargo ship is blocking a major shipping choke point, and that is causing big economic problems in an already fragile global economy."

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he talks about these

 stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up for 3/26/2021.

- https://rumble.com/

"Stimulus Updates PM 3/25/21"

3/25/21, 6:45 PM: The TEC Show, “30 MILLION $1400 Stimulus Checks Coming Next Week For Social Security, SSI, SSDI, VA, RRB”

○

3/25/21, 6:30 PM: Blind to Billionaire,"New!! $1,400 Stimulus Check - SSA, SSDI, SSI, VA". "Finally we are getting some new information on the $1400 stimulus check for Social Security, SSDI, SSI, VA and direct express. When will Social Security receive the $1400 stimulus check? We are finally getting new information on the $1400 stimulus check, third stimulus check for Social Security, SSDI, SSI, VA and direct express individuals."

○

3/25/21, 6 PM: Ron Yates, "WOW $200!! SSI Social Security + 4th STIMULUS CHECK Update Today"

"I Witnessed The Power Of China Today; US Economy Has Collapsed; Stimulus Euphoria; Jobless Crisis"

Fill screen recommended.

Jeremiah Babe,

"I Witnessed The Power Of China Today; 

US Economy Has Collapsed; Stimulus Euphoria; Jobless Crisis"

Gerald Celente, "The Trends Journal: Who's In Charge?"

Gerald Celente,

 "The Trends Journal: Who's In Charge?"

- https://trendsresearch.com/

As only Gerald can do... lol

"The God That Failed"

"The God That Failed"

by Brian Maher

"Today we trample sacred ground… trumpet a message of heresy… and offend the pieties. For we challenge the cherished and soothing assumptions of democracy. In 2001, academic Hans-Hermann Hoppe scribbled a book bearing the soaring title "Democracy: The God That Failed." Hoppe’s work is a dart levelled against that holiest of secular divinities.

Hoppe’s primary tort against democracy? It wastes. It exhausts its capital. It forever takes the short view. Hoppe uses the economic concept of time preference to nail his point through. A Jill with low time preference delays her gratification until the future. She is disciplined. She is willing to have her cake later - only after she has tended to her duties. But a Jack with high time preference orients toward present consumption. He wants his cake now - and the future can go scratching.

Democracy, in Hoppe’s regard, “wants it now.” It is a spendthrift; a profligate; a child at large in a candy store. As the drunkard cannot see beyond the next drink… democracy cannot see past the next election. The problem, says Hoppe, is that democratic leaders do not own the machinery of government. It is theirs on temporary loan. Thus the democratic politician is a mere placeholder. But is that not our system’s cardinal virtue - that power is not permanently lodged in a single vessel? A rotating roster of rogues is far superior to one alone, you counter. Otherwise, the American Revolution was a vast swindle, and the 4th of July is a blackguard’s holiday.

A Pre-Arranged Raid on the Treasury: But because a leader under democracy does not own the government apparatus, argues Hoppe, he has no incentive to maximize its value. Instead, he tends to deplete it. His limited time horizon forces him toward immediate gratification. That is, he must get while the getting is there to be gotten.

Consider the aspiring democratic official who seeks the franchise of a demanding public. He may feel the tug of fiscal conscience. But should he fail to gratify the crowd’s clamorings, he knows the other fellow will. And our democratic aspirant will lose his election. So he offers up the requisite sweets.

If Social Security benefits must increase to sweep him into office, they will increase. Will it take more Medicare benefits, more unemployment insurance, more welfare? Then these you will see. His election represents a pre-arranged raid upon the Treasury. If the national purse is thin, if the burden cannot be met from existing stocks, then let it go upon the credit card. Is the business sordid? Might it eventually throw the Republic into bankruptcy? Well, eventually is a long way off, he says. Let it fall into the next fellow’s lap. Besides, we’ll simply grow our way out of it. This is the office-seeker under modern democracy. Compare, for a moment, democratic government with a rented automobile…

Who Ever Washed a Rental Car? The renter does not own the auto. He, therefore, has no regard for its long-term health. So he over-accelerates the engine. He pummels the brakes. Down its gullet, he pours the lowest-test gasoline. Would he ever check the oil? And who, may we inquire, has ever run a rental through a wash?

Here Hoppe applies the theory to democratic government: "It must be regarded as unavoidable that public-government ownership results in continual capital consumption. Instead of maintaining or even enhancing the value of the government estate, as a king would do, a president (the government’s temporary caretaker or trustee) will use up as much of the government resources as quickly as possible, for what he does not consume now, he may never be able to consume… For a president, unlike for a king, moderation offers only disadvantages."

Hoppe speaks of a king. Unlike democracy, Hoppe contends, monarchy takes the long view. The monarch owns the apparatus of government. As will his heirs. So he naturally inclines to policies that increase the value of his property over time. If Social Security, Medicare and the rest begin to deplete the government’s stocks, the monarch will announce a halt to them.

“It’s welfare you want, subject? I understand the church runs a charity.” “Social Security, you seek? I suggest you begin planning early for your retirement. And remember to save against the rainy day.” “You say you want health care. I hope you don’t smoke or drink too much. And let me mention it now - sugar is a far-from-healthful substance. Besides, there are private insurers. I can refer you to several if you wish.”

The People Tell the King to Get Bent: Is such a system undemocratic? Certainly. Callous, perhaps? Well, perhaps it is. But is it fiscally stable? Yes. Would it incur massive debts it could never repay? Unlikely. In brief, monarchy is better with money than democracy. It is a superior steward of wealth - at least by this theory.

Once again, Hoppe: "While a king is by no means opposed to debt, he is constrained in this “natural” inclination by the fact that as the government’s private owner, he and his heirs are considered personally liable for the payment of all government debts (he can literally go bankrupt, or be forced by creditors to liquidate government assets)."

Consider, as one example: In 1392, England’s King Henry III was in arrears to the Pope in Rome… and required 1,000 pounds towards satisfaction of his debt. He did not have it. So old Hank was forced to appear before the citizens of London with an open hat. Moreover, they refused him.

Can you imagine a president of the United States upon his knees before the citizens of Washington? And these citizens being allowed to refuse him? Freeman Tilden, from his neglected 1936 masterwork, "A World in Debt": "Kings had power enough to contract debts, but found it much more difficult to take advantage of that power than the legally curbed monarchs [that followed later]. The feudal system, with its insecurity and constant clash of petty divisions, was not calculated to invite credit."

In distinct contrast, Hoppe argues, we find the democratic president: "A presidential government caretaker is not held liable for debts incurred during his tenure of office. Rather, his debts are considered “public,” to be repaid by future (equally nonliable) governments." Perhaps this explains - pandemic aside - why the national debt of the United States runs to some $28 trillion? It is a capital fact beyond all dispute: "Most democratic nations groan beneath bloated government… extortionate taxation… and Himalayan levels of debt."

Taxes: How does this lovely, lovely state compare with the barbarous age of monarchs, Mr. Hoppe? During the entire monarchical age until the second half of the 19th century… the tax burden rarely exceeded 5 percent of national product. Since then it has increased constantly. In Western Europe it stood at 15–20 percent of national product after World War I, and in the meantime it has risen to around 50 percent.

Government spending ran to roughly 10% of GDP prior to World War I. It currently nears 50% in many democratic countries. Total government spending in this Land of the Free amounts to 36% of GDP — nearly 40%. Perhaps in retrospect, the world might have been made safe for monarchy in 1917.

And maybe our Colonial forefathers should have left old King George alone in 1775. His tax bite was so light… it failed to break the skin. Our researches reveal that American Colonial taxation ran to about 1% of total income - 1%. And between 1764 and 1775, claims political scientist Alvin Rabushka: "The nearly 2 million white Colonists in America paid on the order of about 1 percent of the annual taxes levied on the roughly 8.5 million residents of Britain, or one twenty-fifth, in per capita terms…"

As traitorous as it may appear, we are half-tempted to disinter King George’s innocent bones and throw them a much overdue parade. But let us entertain no more thoughts of heresy.

The Worst System of Government… Except for the Rest: Hoppe’s book is actually no call for monarchy. As the author himself states at the onset - “I am not a monarchist and the following is not a defense of monarchy.” His primary purpose is to diagnose an illness - not to prescribe a cure. Hoppe’s sins against democracy are nonetheless of the mortal variety. And mainstream academics put him under excommunication for his blasphemies. But to repeat, Hoppe does not call for monarchy. Nor do we.

Beneath our seditious motley beats the heart of an American patriot… and our blood runs true under red, white and blue. Besides, a king could be every inch the scoundrel as an American president. And since he faces no election, how could we possibly count upon him to say amusing and idiotic things? Let us, therefore, not discount the comedic value of democratic government.

In addition, monarchy is certainly no guarantee against bankruptcy - as history records well. More than a few ne’er do well kings have driven their realms to rack and ruin. Who can dispute it? But it is due more to incompetent kingmanship than kingmanship itself. A Henry VIII can inherit a throne as easily as a Solomon. Regardless, it matters little…Hoppe’s monarchic utopia will never be - not in today’s age of mass democracy.

But does it soften his case? Winston Churchill famously quipped that democracy was the worst form of government except for the rest. But upon further reflection, maybe monarchy is the worst form of government… except for the rest…"

- dailyreckoning.com

Gregory Mannarino, PM 3/25/21: "RED ALERT: Be Ready For It, Because People Will DIE!"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 3/25/21:

"RED ALERT: 

Be Ready For It, Because People Will DIE!"

- https://traderschoice.net/

"Addendum/Clarification To Last Video" (Above)

Musical Interlude: 2002, "The Calling"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "The Calling"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“These three bright nebulae are often featured in 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 left of center, and colorful M20 on the right. The third, NGC 6559, is above M8, separated from the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant.

The expansive M8, over a hundred light-years across, 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, with contrasting blue hues, most striking in the Trifid, due to dust reflected starlight. The colorful skyscape recorded with telescope and digital camera also includes one of Messier's open star clusters, M21, just above the Trifid.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
•
"When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged
in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams,
to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where
he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars."

- Walt Whitman

"The Eternal Silence of Infinite Spaces..."

"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

The Poet: Mary Oliver, “October”

“October”

"There’s this shape, black as the entrance to a cave.

A longing wells up in its throat

like a blossom

as it breathes slowly.

What does the world

mean to you if you can’t trust it

to go on shining when you’re

not there? and there’s

a tree, long-fallen; once

the bees flew to it, like a procession

of messengers, and filled it

with honey.

I said to the chickadee,

 singing his heart out in the

green pine tree:

little dazzler

little song,

little mouthful.

The shape climbs up out of the curled grass. It

grunts into view. There is no measure

for the confidence at the bottom of its eyes-

there is no telling

the suppleness of its shoulders as it turns

and yawns.

Near the fallen tree

something - a leaf snapped loose

from the branch and fluttering down - tries to pull me

into its trap of attention.

It pulls me

into its trap of attention,

And when I turn again, the bear is gone.

Look, hasn’t my body already felt

like the body of a flower?

Look, I want to love this world

as thought it’s the last chance I’m ever going to get

to be alive

and know it.

Sometimes in late summer I won’t touch anything, not

the flowers, not the blackberries

brimming in the thickets; I won’t drink

from the pond; I won’t name the birds or the trees;

I won’t whisper my own name.

One morning

the fox came down the hill, glittering and confident,

and didn’t see me - and I thought:

so this is the world.

I’m not in it.

It is beautiful."

- Mary Oliver

"The Future..."

"We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate the future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we wander in the times which are not ours, and do not think of the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are no more, and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists. For the present is generally painful to us. We conceal it from our sight, because it troubles us; and if it be delightful to us, we regret to see it pass away. We try to sustain it by the future, and think of arranging matters which are not in our power, for a time which we have no certainty of reaching. Let each one examine his thoughts, and he will find them all occupied with the past and the future. We scarcely ever think of the present; and if we think of it, it is only to take light from it to arrange the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means; the future alone is our end. So we never live, but we hope to live; and, as we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable we should never be so."

- Blaise Pascal

"25 Rules Of Disinformation, Propaganda, 'PSYOPS', Debunking Techniques"

"25 Rules Of Disinformation, Propaganda,

 'PSYOPS', Debunking Techniques"

By Kristan T. Harris

"1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don’t discuss it - especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it’s not reported, it didn’t happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.

2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the “How dare you!” gambit.

3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such “arguable rumors.” If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a “wild rumor” which can have no basis in fact.

4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent’s argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.

5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-wing”, “liberal”, “left-wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”, “radicals”, “militia”, “racists”, “religious fanatics”, “sexual deviants”, and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.

6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain critical reasoning — simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent’s viewpoint.

7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.

8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough “jargon” and “minutiae” to illustrate you are “one who knows,” and simply say it isn’t so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.

9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues with denial they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.

10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with. Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues — so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.

11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the “high road” and “confess” with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made — but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminality which, “just isn’t so.” Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later. Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for “coming clean” and “owning up” to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.

12. Enigmas that have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.

13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards with an apparent deductive logic in a way that forbears any actual material fact.

14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best for items qualifying for rule 10.

15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.

16. Vanishing evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won’t have to address the issue.

17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can “argue” with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.

18. Emotionalize, antagonize, and goad opponents. If you can’t do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how “sensitive they are to criticism.”

19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the “play dumb” rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon). In order to completely avoid discussing issues may require you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.

20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.

21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can ensure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed an unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict (usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim) is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed.

22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.

23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.

24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by proper intimidation with blackmail or other threats.

25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.”

- http://www.activistpost.com/

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Related:

"The True Nature of an Internet Troll"

The Daily "Near You?"

Erskineville, New South Wales, Australia. Thanks for stopping by!

"Only When..."

 

"The Green Frog Skin"; "Stomp Dance"; "Power Drums, Spirit Pride"

"The Green Frog Skin"

by John (Fire) Lame Deer

"The Green Frog Skin – that’s what I call the dollar bill. In our attitude towards it lies the biggest difference between the Indians and the whites. My grandparents grew up in an Indian world without money. Just before the Custer battle the white soldiers had received their pay. Their pockets were full of green paper and they had no place to spend it. What were their last thoughts as an Indian bullet or arrow hit them? I guess they were thinking of all that money going to waste, of not having had a chance to enjoy it, of a bunch of dumb savages getting their paws on that hard-earned pay. That must have hurt them more than the arrow between their ribs.

The close hand-to-hand fighting, with a thousand horses gally-hooting all over the place, had covered the battlefield with an enormous cloud of dust, and in it the green frog skins of the soldiers were whirling around like snowflakes in a blizzard. Now, what did the Indians do with all that money? They gave it to their children to play with, to fold those strange bits of coloured paper into all kinds of shapes, making into toy buffalo and horses. Somebody was enjoying that money after all.

The books tell of one soldier who survived. He got away, but he went crazy and some women watched him from a distance as he killed himself. The writers always say that he must have been afraid of being captured and tortured, but that’s all wrong. Can’t you see it? There he is, bellied down in a gully, watching what is going on. He sees the kids playing with the money, tearing it up, the women using it to fire up some dried buffalo chips to cook on, the men lighting their pipes with green frog skins, but mostly all those beautiful dollar bills floating away with the dust and the wind. It’s this sight that drove the poor soldier crazy. He’s clutching his head, hollering, ‘Goddam, Jesus Christ Almighty, look at them dumb, stupid, red sons of bitches wasting all that dough!’ He watches till he can’t stand it any longer, and then he blows his brains out with a six-shooter. It would make a great scene in a movie, but it would take an Indian mind to get the point."

- John (Fire) Lame Deer, "Seeker of Visions"

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“Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn't have any kind of prison. Because of this, we didn't have any delinquents. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn't afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We didn't know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white man arrived and I don't know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society.”

- John (Fire) Lame Deer

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Full screen!

Native American, "Power Drums, Spirit Pride"

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Brule, "Stomp Dance"

"The Only Final Sin..."

"In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is 

getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."

- Hunter S. Thompson

"Moonstruck"

"Moonstruck"

By Bill Bonner

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – "The moon is in its “Waxing Gibbous” phase… bright and bold, last night. And the lunatics are howling. At the macro level… the situation could scarcely be any zanier. The feds have spent $5 trillion, supposedly to cure an $800 billion loss in GDP caused by the COVID-19 panic and shutdowns. They destroyed millions of careers, jobs, and small businesses. They added $4 trillion of debt in 12 months. And now, they’re cueing up another $3 trillion spending lollapalooza.

What is really going on is that the politicians are using The Plague as cover for boondoggles, giveaways, pet projects, and bailouts – intended to enrich their friends and supporters, at others’ expense. And now, they’ve gone too far, stayed too long, and can’t get back.

The boondoggles – the “stimmy” checks, grants, loans, and giveaways – are the income and “savings” that sustain the economy. Any attempt to reduce them will bring sad headlines about how “sales are falling” and “jobs are being lost.” Yes, Dear Reader, the boats have been burned. We have no way to get home. Forward! Into the Katastrophenhausse!

Big Joke: Meanwhile, just as the phony money addles the macro picture… so does the moonshine make a joke of the micro world. That is where people have to make real decisions about their own money. What to buy? What to sell? What will go up? What will go down?

Remember all that hullabaloo around GameStop a couple of months ago? The kids got onto it… decided that they could ride it to the moon… and also squeeze the pros. It was the No. 1 finance story for a few days, as hedge funds were forced into bankruptcy by the amateurs – who seemed to regard honest stock analysis as a loser’s game.

This left the winners in a bad spot, however, because they were holding a lot of stock for which they had paid far too much. It was then that we announced, with a knowing, arrogant sorta smile, that the stock was probably doomed to go back whence it came – about $15 a share. Which is not what happened. The kids kept at it, apparently convinced that they saw some future that the pros and the old-timers couldn’t see. They bid the shares back up so that, as of Tuesday, it was still about 1,000% above our price target. Oops!

Trouble is, the bulls are trapped. They’ve pumped up a stock. Now, they own billions of dollars’ worth of it. Like the feds’ dilemma, any normalization will mean big losses. What can they do, but buy more… and hope the company eventually becomes worth the price?

Alas, you can’t lose weight by eating more. And mistakes can’t be undone by making more of them. And on Tuesday evening, the company announced its latest results. Oops. It “missed” consensus earnings targets. Yahoo! Finance has the story: "Shares of GameStop Corp. tanked 15.3% in Tuesday’s extended trading session after the electronics retail company reported fiscal 4Q results (ended Jan. 30) that came in below analysts’ expectations."

Putting that into perspective… In the previous full fiscal year, the company earned MINUS $471 million. For the most recent quarter, net income was $80.5 million. So any positive number is an improvement. But over at Bloomberg, Matt Levine offers more detail: "Bloomberg’s EEO screen tells me that consensus analyst estimates for adjusted earnings per share are negative $2.10 in 2021, negative $0.62 in 2022, positive $0.24 in 2023 and positive $1.25 in 2024. The stock closed yesterday at $181.75 per share, or 145 times four-years-ahead earnings."

The stock continued to fall. At yesterday’s close, it was down to $120. How much is GameStop really worth? Nobody knows. Our $15 is still as good a guess as any.

Lunacy: There’s more micro madness going on in Cathie Wood’s shop – ARK Invest – too. She’s put a price target on Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla (TSLA) that deserves some kind of lunatic award. That is, she says the price should hit $3,000 by 2025, which would make the company worth almost $3 trillion. And yes, of course, anything could happen. Especially now that Musk will take bitcoin in payment for its autos. But the stock is still quoted in dollars, not cryptocurrency. And this is an “expected value” forecast… presumed to be coming from someone who is still sane – if any sane person is left. And presumably, this is something sane investors should take seriously and make their investment decisions based on it. It seems crazy. But this is La Bubble Epoch… and no impossibility is so impossible as to not become federal policy… or scare away investors…

Impossible Math: We’ve done this math before, but we will return to it. Imagine that there are 100 million automobiles sold in 2025. And imagine that automakers could make $2,000 on each one. That gives us a TOTAL POSSIBLE earnings base of $200 billion.

So to make sense of Cathie Wood’s price target of $3 trillion, at a reasonable price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 15, we also have to imagine that Volkswagen, Toyota, Audi… all 14 of the major automakers… somehow disappear, along with their 60 popular brands, leaving Tesla with 100% of the auto market, rather than just the 1% it has now. How likely is that? About as likely as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell creating a genuine, sustainable boom."

- www.rogueeconomics.com

Musical Interlude: Walter Murphy, "A Fifth of Beethoven"

Walter Murphy, "A Fifth of Beethoven"

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Walter Murphy, "A Fifth Of Beethoven", Full Album (1976) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HjdhQ4Gx_A

"How It Really Is"

"Economic Market Snapshot AM 3/25/21"

"Economic Market Snapshot AM 3/25/21"

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"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will

do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."

- John Maynard Keynes

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

Only the consequences are real - to you!

Your guide:

Gregory Mannarino, AM 3/25/21:

"Markets Set For A Pan-Sell Off, 

This Is What You Need To Know"

- https://traderschoice.net/

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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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MarketWatch Market Summary, Live Updates

- https://www.marketwatch.com/tools/marketsummary

CNN Market Data:

- https://money.cnn.com/data/markets/

CNN Fear And Greed Index:

- https://money.cnn.com/data/fear-and-greed/

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A comprehensive, essential daily read.

- http://www.shadowstats.com/

March 24th to 25th, Updated Daily 

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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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Daily Job Cuts

- https://www.dailyjobcuts.com/

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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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And now, the End Game...

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Oh yeah...

"Are We Staring At A Coming Systemic Breakdown And The End Of Capitalism?"

"Are We Staring At A Coming Systemic Breakdown

 And The End Of Capitalism?"

by Adam Taggart

"For any problems they face, governments all over the world are now conditioned to simply deficit spend or issue new $trillions in ‘thin air’ currency. So how 'in danger' are we of that recklessness leading to a breakdown of the entire system? Respected financial analyst Michael Every suspects we’re closer than most realize.

As governments continue to flood the world with debt-funded stimulus, they not only fan the flames under the social powderkeg of wealth inequality, but they are destroying their own powers in the process.

Up until the Great Financial Crisis, a dollar in new federal debt issued resulted in more than $1 in incremental GDP. But no longer:

That indicates the government is now at the ‘pushing on a string’ phase: it can’t grow out of its problems. Issuing new debt only digs the insolvency hole deeper at this point..."

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

LALATE, Early AM 3/25/21: "NO Direct Deposit 3rd Stimulus Payment?"

LALATE,

Early AM 3/25/21: "NO Direct Deposit 3rd Stimulus Payment?"