"U.S. Consumers Will Be Spending Much Less This Holiday Season Because Many Of Them Are Already Tapped Out"

"U.S. Consumers Will Be Spending Much Less This 

Holiday Season Because Many Of Them Are Already Tapped Out"

by Michael Snyder

"This holiday season is certainly going to be far less jolly for millions of Americans. Yesterday, I detailed 11 signs that economic activity in the U.S. is rapidly declining. Well, today we have gotten even more bad news. Thanks to deteriorating economic conditions, Americans plan to buy a lot less stuff this holiday season. In fact, one survey that was just released has discovered that approximately half the country plans to “buy fewer things” this year…

"Inflation is weighing heavily on the holidays this year. Roughly half of shoppers will buy fewer things due to higher prices, and more than one-third said they will rely on coupons to cut down on the cost, according to a recent survey of more than 1,000 adults by RetailMeNot."

Normally, if cash is tight Americans will just load up their credit cards during the holiday season. But for many people that simply won’t be possible this year. Millions upon millions of us are already completely tapped out, and credit card balances have surged to a brand new record high…"Credit card and personal loan balances have reached record highs in recent months as an increasing number of consumers lean on such means to combat growing financial pressures caused by sky-high inflation.

According to TransUnion’s Quarterly Credit Industry Insights Report (CIIR), bankcard balances rose 19% during the third quarter from a year ago, reaching a record $866 billion. This was driven heavily by a growth in Gen Z and Millennial borrowers whose balances increased 72% and 32%, respectively, according to the report."

A lot of Americans have already been heavily leaning on their credit cards just to survive from month to month in this harsh economic environment. Now that balances are so high, there simply is not a lot of room for additional spending.

Women usually do a great deal of the holiday shopping, and another recent survey discovered that they are even more concerned about inflation than men are…"Rising prices are taking a toll on everyone right now, but a new study shows women are feeling the pain more than men – and it is the primary money woe keeping ladies up at night. Research from Fidelity Investments found that inflation is currently the top financial concern for U.S. women, with upwards of 70% citing it as their main worry. Respondents listed the costs of essentials as the second-biggest stressor (65%), and another 58% expressed worries about not having enough saved for emergencies."

The cost of living has become extremely oppressive, and this has greatly reduced the amount of money that Americans have available for discretionary spending. As a result, businesses all over the nation are struggling. The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index just dropped again, and inflation continues to rank as the number one concern…"According to the National Federation of Independent Business, 33% of small business owners cited inflation as their most important problem in October. That number is three points higher than was reported in September. The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index dropped 0.8% to 91.3 in October, marking 10 consecutive months it has remained under the 49-year average of 98."

As I discussed yesterday, 37 percent of all small business owners in the entire country were not able to pay rent last month. That is a disastrous number. Of course many large businesses are experiencing major problems as well.

Just look at Carvana. Just a couple of years ago Carvana was really flying high, but now it is literally on the verge of collapse…"In total, Carvana’s shares have plummeted 96% this year after hitting an all-time intraday high of $376.83 per share in August 2021. According to CNBC, the stock’s all-time low of $8.14 per share occurred less than a week after it started trading publicly on April 28, 2017. The company’s previous worst day of trading was a 26.4% decline on March 18, 2020.

As a result, Morgan Stanley pulled its rating on Carvana, saying its stock could be worth as little as $1 to $40. Analyst Adam Jonas blamed the decrease in used car sales and an uncertain funding environment for the change. “While the company is continuing to pursue cost-cutting actions, we believe a deterioration in the used car market combined with a volatile interest rate adds material risk to the outlook,” he said via CNBC. These factors contribute to a wide range of positive and negative outcomes."

One of the biggest factors that is depressing sales for the auto industry right now is rapidly rising interest rates…"The average interest rate for a new-vehicle loan climbed to 5.2% in the third quarter, while the average rate for a used vehicle loan hit 9.7%, according to TransUnion. Both are up more than one percentage point compared with the year-earlier period."

The Federal Reserve should not be aggressively hiking rates just as we are entering a major economic slowdown. It is an incredibly foolish thing to do. The Fed’s policies have been absolutely eviscerating the housing industry, and now it has become clear that the same thing is starting to happen to the auto industry. But they are going to keep raising rates anyway.

As Americans went to the polls on Tuesday, the economy was the number one issue on their minds, and that does not appear to be good news for the Democrats…"A report released Friday outlined the problem for Washington’s current ruling party. The University of Michigan, which releases a closely watched sentiment survey each month, asked respondents who they trusted more when it came to the economy and which would better for personal finances. The result: overwhelmingly Republican.

The survey of 1,201 respondents saw Republicans with a 37%-21% edge on the question of which party is better for the economy. While that left a wide swath - 37% - of consumers who don’t think it makes a difference, the disparity of those with a preference is huge."

At this moment, Joe Biden’s approval rating with independents is the lowest that it has ever been. All of the numbers seem to indicate that the election results will go a certain way. But will that be what the “final results” actually show? We will just have to wait and see…"

- http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

"Stock Up Now At Kroger! Massive Holiday Sale! Don't Miss This!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures with Danno, 11/10/22:

"Stock Up Now At Kroger! 

Massive Holiday Sale! Don't Miss This!"

"In today's vlog we are at Kroger, and are noticing that they are having a huge sale on holiday baking items this month! We are stocking up, and showing the best deals as we take you shopping with us. It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

"Even With Good People..."

"Cause even with good people, even with people that

you can kinda trust, if the truth is inconvenient, 

and if the truth doesn't, like, fit, they don't believe it."

- Marie Adler

"Happy Birthday U.S. Marine Corps"

Full screen recommended.

"247th Marine Corps Birthday Message"

"On November 10, 2022, U.S. Marines around the globe will celebrate 247 years of success on the battlefield and a legacy defined by honor, courage and commitment. This year, the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David H. Berger and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy E. Black reiterate to the force that Marines are warfighters first and foremost, in any clime and place. Drawing on the strength and service of those who wore the Eagle, Globe and Anchor in years past, Marines today are standing ready to fight and win."

"The Marine Corps Hymn"

- CP, Veteran, U.S. Marine Corps, MOS 0311. 

Semper Fi!

"Inside The Battle for Taiwan and China's Looming War Threat"

Full screen recommended.

60 Minutes Australia, 11/6/22:

"Inside The Battle for Taiwan and China's Looming War Threat"

"What’s playing out in Taiwan right now could shape the world for decades. As China threatens to bring the country back under its control by any means necessary, its people are pleading with the West to stand up to the communist superpower. NOW on #60Mins, the fear is that World War III could begin there."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Russia Foils A Terrorist Attack In Kherson As Putin Withdraws Troops"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 11/9/22:

"Russia Foils A Terrorist Attack In 

Kherson As Putin Withdraws Troops"

"At least nine people have been detained in the Kherson region on charges of attempted terrorist attacks. These men were part of the Ukrainian SBU, a known terrorist organization, according to the U.S. State Department. Is this normal warfare or something darker? We speak to independent journalist George Eliason about it."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Canadian Prepper, "A Very Bad Sign, Russia Just Did This, WW3 Is Here"

Canadian Prepper, 11/9/22:

"A Very Bad Sign, Russia Just Did This, WW3 Is Here"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Mike Oldfield, "Tubular Bells, Finale"

Mike Oldfield, "Tubular Bells, Finale"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“A now famous picture from the Hubble Space Telescope featured Pillars of Creation, star forming columns of cold gas and dust light-years long inside M16, the Eagle Nebula. This false-color composite image views the nearby stellar nursery using data from the Herschel Space Observatory's panoramic exploration of interstellar clouds along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy. Herschel's far infrared detectors record the emission from the region's cold dust directly. 

The famous pillars are included near the center of the scene. While the central group of hot young stars is not apparent at these infrared wavelengths, the stars' radiation and winds carve the shapes within the interstellar clouds. Scattered white spots are denser knots of gas and dust, clumps of material collapsing to form new stars. The Eagle Nebula is some 6,500 light-years distant, an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes in a nebula rich part of the sky toward the split constellation Serpens Cauda (the tail of the snake).”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160728.html

"The Only Absolute..."

"Never perceive anything as being inevitable or predestined. 

The only absolute is uncertainty."

- Lionel Suggs

○

"Humans may crave absolute certainty; they may aspire to it; they may pretend, as partisans of certain religions do, to have attained it. But the history of science - by far the most successful claim to knowledge accessible to humans - teaches that the most we can hope for is successive improvement in our understanding, learning from our mistakes, an asymptotic approach to the Universe, but with the proviso that absolute certainty will always elude us."

- Carl Sagan

"Walmart Is Quietly Closing Stores As Retail Layoffs Are 90 Percent Higher"

Full screen recommended.

"Walmart Is Quietly Closing Stores As 

Retail Layoffs Are 90 Percent Higher"

by Epic Economist

"Top retailers are announcing mass layoffs and hiring freezes as cracks in the US economy continue to grow. Just like we witnessed during the last recession, retail chains are closing stores, reporting declining sales, and facing massive inventory woes. The entire sector is facing one of the toughest stretches that we have seen since 2020, but analysts are saying that this is just the beginning. Even retail giant Walmart and e-commerce leader Amazon are being forced to slash their headcounts as consumers tighten their belts and spend less to cope with the soaring cost of living.

Recent numbers are telling us that this crisis is really starting to accelerate, and things will get even rockier as the new recession gets rolling. A tidal wave of job cuts will sweep through the country in the final quarter of 2022, and extend well into 2023. If even the most powerful brands are struggling right now, this means smaller competitors are about to get crushed.

Right now, labor is top of mind for many companies, with inflation, inventory imbalances, and declining sales forcing them to rethink their workforces to get through the recession. Many have already signaled that a painful period is ahead, pointing to shortages, rising operational costs, and shifting consumer demand as some of the reasons why their profits have been shrinking. Shoppers are cutting back on discretionary spending amid rising living expenses, meaning that brands that count on their discretionary sales to prop up their balance sheets are going to suffer the most.

Research released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that the number of retail layoffs is climbing at the fastest pace since 2016. In September and October, roughly 12,785 employees lost their jobs in the retail industry – a whopping 92 percent spike compared to the same time last year when retailers were feverishly preparing for the 2021 holiday season, and only 1,023 retail workers were laid-off.

Very few companies have been able to avoid this downsizing trend. At this point, even the largest retailer in America has begun quietly laying off workers. According to Business Insider, Walmart is cutting 1,700 jobs by December 2. It will start by cutting 200 corporate jobs, and approximately 1,500 warehouse jobs. Workers started receiving notifications at the end of August.

Amazon, is also facing its fair share of difficulties. In fact, Amazon has abandoned multiple projects this year in an effort to reduce costs, which resulted in nearly 560 layoffs in the first quarter. At least another 300 jobs are on the line, and may be cut by early 2023 as Amazon finishes its initial downsizing plan that eliminates 99,000 people from its workforce, CNBC reports. FedEx, which competes with Amazon for delivering packages to customers, said last month that it was freezing hiring, closing stores, and parking planes as demand dropped faster than it expected. Twitter is laying off 50% of its workforce. CEO Elon Musk revealed that the company is losing over $4 million a day. Peloton, who saw its shares soaring 73% in the second quarter of 2021, has laid off thousands of workers as its stocks crashed by 94% in September.

Considering that hundreds of retailers are barely clinging to life, their chances of surviving this economic meltdown are very small. By now, pretty much everyone agrees that in the months ahead, the economic scenario will look even grimmer. Consequently, more retail workers are going to get laid off, more stores are going to close, and “retail apocalypse” stories will start making the headlines again."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "Stock Market Craters, Crypto Crushed"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 11/9/22:

"Stock Market Craters, Crypto Crushed"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

○

Market Data Center, Live Updates:

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

"The Writing Is On The Wall, People Will Lose It All"

Full screen recommended.

Jeremiah Babe, 11/9/22:

"The Writing Is On The Wall, People Will Lose It All"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Cumberland, Virginia, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Write Your Worries On The Sand..."

“I walked slowly out on the beach.

A few yards below high-water mark I stopped and read the words again: 

WRITE YOUR WORRIES ON THE SAND.

I let the paper blow away, reached down and picked up a fragment of shell. 

Kneeling there under the vault of the sky, 

I wrote several words, one above the other.

Then I walked away, and I did not look back. 

I had written my troubles on the sand. 

The tide was coming in.”

- Arthur Gordon

○

"Lifes impermanence, I realized, is what makes every

single day so precious. It's what shapes our time here.

It's what makes it so important that not a single moment be wasted."

- Wes Moore

"A Lot Of People..."

"When science discovers the center of the universe

a lot of people will be disappointed to find they are not."

- Bernard Baily

“Are You Sane?”

“Are You Sane?”

by Charles Hugh Smith

“A sane person to an insane society must appear insane.”

– Kurt Vonnegut, “Welcome to the Monkey House”

“Madness has engulfed the entire world, with a concentration of power in the hands of a few psychopathic financial elite wielding an inordinate and dangerous expanse of power over the lives of the common man. They are a modern day version of Al Capone, except their weapons of choice aren’t machine guns, but a printing press, peddling debt, creating derivatives of mass destruction, and peddling heaping doses of disinformation. The contemporary criminal class wears Hermes suits, Rolex watches and diamond studded pinky rings, drops $500 to dine at Masa in NYC, travels by chauffeured limo, lives in $10 million NYC penthouse suites, occupies luxurious corner offices in hundred story glass towers, and spends weekends hobnobbing with the other financial elite at their villas in the Hamptons. They have nothing but utter contempt for the lowly peasants who depend upon a weekly paycheck to make ends meet. Why work when you can steal $1 or $2 billion from farmers with no consequences?

The willfully ignorant masses are kept at bay by the selling them a false dichotomy of Republicans versus Democrats, conservatives versus liberals, and capitalism versus socialism. The ruling class distracts the public with fake wars on poverty, drugs and terror, while using these storylines to further enrich themselves and keep the public alarmed and frightened. We’ve been “fighting” the wars on poverty and drugs for over four decades and poverty is at record levels, while drugs are easier to obtain than candy in a candy store. The war on terror is nothing more than a corporate arms dealer welfare plan. The end of the Cold War put a real crimp in the bottom lines of Lockheed Martin and the rest of the peddlers of death. 9/11 and the subsequent undeclared wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria, with Iran on the horizon, have been a godsend to the bottom lines of the corporations Eisenhower warned about in 1961.

In reality, the politicians are interchangeable and bought off by corporate and special interests. The people are sold a fable, and controlled opposition is the fairy tale. They perpetuate the welfare/warfare state that enriches Wall Street, the military industrial complex, the healthcare service complex, politically connected mega-corporations and the corporate media propaganda complex. The American people are given the illusion of choice by their keepers. The system is rigged. The real decisions are made by unelected secretive men who operate in the shadows and use their wealth to direct the decision making of the politicians, government bureaucrats, and corporate entities that benefit from those decisions. Edward Bernays described a society that existed in the 19th Century, 20th Century, and has now grown to immense proportions in the 21st Century:

“Political campaigns today are all sideshows. A presidential candidate may be ‘drafted’ in response to ‘overwhelming popular demand,’ but it is well known that his name may be decided upon by half a dozen men sitting around a table in a hotel room. The conscious manipulation of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” – Edward Bernays

The manipulation of the masses has been perfected by the ruling class through decades of corporate mass media messaging the purposeful dumbing down of the populace through government public school education that teaches children how to feel rather than how to think. The conscious manipulation of the masses has been designed to produce obedient non-thinking consumers of corporate products, educated to believe the accumulation of material goods with debt constitutes wealth, to fear whatever the government tells them to fear, and never look up from their iGadgets long enough to actually think for themselves. We are bombarded with Orwellian memes designed to keep us sedated and pliant, as the ruling class pillages the national wealth and expands their power and control over our lives:

Conform; Stay Asleep; Do Not Question Authority; Obey; Consume; Reproduce; Submit; Watch TV; Buy; Follow; Doubt Humanity; No New Ideas; Feel, Don’t Think; Fear; Accumulate; Honor Apathy; Believe Experts; Surrender; Spend; No Independent Thought; Win; Want More; Hate; Succumb To Desire; Yield To Power; Choose Safety Over Liberty; Choose Security Over Freedom

This insane world was created through decades of bad decisions, believing in false prophets, choosing current consumption over sustainable long-term savings based growth, electing corruptible men who promised voters entitlements that were mathematically impossible to deliver, the disintegration of a sense of civic and community obligation and a gradual degradation of the national intelligence and character.

Vonnegut and Huxley’s social commentary reveals a basic truth that societies and human beings have been prone to bouts of madness over the course of decades and centuries. Humans are a weak species, susceptible to the vagaries of greed, lust, gluttony, wrath, sloth, envy and pride. The seven deadly sins are in full bloom today, as the American empire descends through Dante’s inferno of reality TV, celebrity worship, religious zealotry, adulation of wealthy titans, military conquest and worship of false idols.

This is where the interests of those in power and those being ruled have coincided, as a fiat based monetary system allowed unlimited spending to keep the welfare/warfare state growing, enriching the crony capitalists, deepening the power of the state, and providing the masses with foreign made trinkets, baubles, corporate logoed clothing, techno-gadgets, and pimped out financed wheels. The concepts of self-restraint, discipline, saving for a rainy day, prudence, discretion, and deferred gratification are rarely displayed in modern day America. In a case of mass delusion, Americans have convinced themselves to live for today, recklessly ignore their futures, irresponsibly spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need, neglect their civic duty towards future generations, choose ignorance over knowledge, and vote for spineless politicians who promise them entitlements that are mathematically impossible to honor. The public’s foolish attitude towards debt accumulation matches the arrogance of our gutless intellectually dishonest leaders.”

- http://www.theburningplatform.com/

"Acceptance..."

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

- Margaret E. Rise

Celente and the Judge: "How Low Can Amerika Go?"

Full screen recommended.

Celente and the Judge: "How Low Can Amerika Go?"

"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present Facts and Truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for What’s Next in these increasingly turbulent times."

- https://trendsresearch.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Get Ready for a Gas Shortage"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 11/9/22:

"Get Ready for a Gas Shortage"

"Diesel is in short supply right now. Regionally there are supply problems. It’s just a matter of time until they stop refining gasoline, and we have a shortage. Diesel will be the main fuel supply. Bob Kudla joins us as well today."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Mental Health Musical Interlude: Gnomusy (David Caballero), "Footprints On The Sea"; "Ballerina"

Gnomusy (David Caballero), "Footprints On The Sea"

Gnomusy (David Caballero), "Ballerina"

○

Be kind to yourself, take a break, relax and enjoy this music.

It'll all still be there when you get back, but you'll feel better...

"How It Really Is"

 

"Ukraine Cannot Escape Its Grim Reality"

Straight Calls with Douglas Macgregor, 11/9/22:

"Ukraine Cannot Escape Its Grim Reality"

"Your home for analysis of breaking news and in-depth discussion of current geopolitical events in the United states and the world. Geopolitics. No ego descriptions. No small talk. Straight to the point. Calls with the relevant analysis only."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Massive Price Increases At Dollar General! This Is Ridiculous!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures with Danno, 11/9/22:

"Massive Price Increases At Dollar General! This Is Ridiculous!"

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

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Credit Cards Are Enslaving You, Balances Reach $866 Billion; Prepare For Credit Lines To Be Cut"

Jeremiah Babe, 11/8/22:

"Credit Cards Are Enslaving You, Balances Reach $866 Billion; 

Prepare For Credit Lines To Be Cut"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"No One Is Ready for What's Coming and It's All Been Planned"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 11/8/22:

"No One Is Ready for What's Coming and It's All Been Planned"

"Biden told the truth out loud about the agenda to create a man-made energy crisis and his team is in damage control mode. The globalist plan to de-populate the planet is all part of this story. When you take away people's energy and food you take away their lives."

Comments here:

https://www.youtube.com/

○

"Clayton Morris is a former Fox News anchor. In Redacted, Clayton and his wife Natali take an in-depth look at the legal, social, financial, and personal issues that matter to you. They want to set the record straight and bring you the stories nobody else is telling. Along with the facts and the full picture, Redacted offers real-world analysis without an agency driven by corporate overloads. With Clayton’s extensive journalism experience, he isn’t afraid to demand the truth from authorities. Redacted is an independent platform, unencumbered by external factors or restrictive policies on which Clayton and Natali Morris bring you quality information, balanced reporting, constructive debate, and thoughtful narratives."

Gerald Celente," Amerika: Vote For The Loser You Hate The Least; The War Machine Always Wins"

Full screen recommended.

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 11/8/22:

"Amerika: Vote For The Loser You Hate The Least;

 The War Machine Always Wins"

- https://trendsjournal.com

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Brace Yourself For Significantly Higher Prices On Thousands Of Different Products"

Full screen recommended.

"Brace Yourself For Significantly Higher Prices

 On Thousands Of Different Products"

by Epic Economist

"A very scary crisis is hitting our food systems. In recent weeks, many industry insiders kept sounding the alarm about growing imbalances in our supply chains and telling the public to prepare for the worst. Frustrated shoppers are dealing with an almost 15% increase in grocery prices, unpredictable product stockouts, and empty shelves at their favorite supermarkets. Many Americans were expecting shortages would have disappeared by now, but that’s not the case at all. In fact, even the Washington Post is admitting that store shelves are set to be even barer in the next couple of months as shortages get even more extensive.

While there’s still food available in the grocery stores, options are getting more and more limited, and also significantly more expensive, making many hard workers out there unable to afford to buy the staples they need to feed their families. This trend is only likely to accelerate during this year’s holiday season. And today we’re going to expose why experts like Robert Kiyosaki, GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan, and the CEO of Kraft Heinz are so concerned about the dire state of the nation’s food supply chain and urging the public to stock up while they still can.

Many store shelves across America have been wiped clean, and they’re staying empty as grocers struggle to restock everyday necessities, such as milk, bread, pasta, canned soups, and cleaning products. One of the biggest complaints supermarkets are receiving these days is the lack of basic meat staples and chicken right ahead of the holidays. And shoppers are also noticing that prices are already going through the roof. This year’s meat supply is considerably lower than last year’s. With less supply and roughly the same level of demand, meat prices have reached insane highs. In fact, Labor Department data shows that the prices U.S. consumers paid for meat last month were the highest since 1974. In October, meat prices rose between 17% and 23%, while chicken was 38% more expensive, and frozen turkey jumped between 73% and 112% compared to the same period a year ago.

Food inflation and supply shortfalls are major concerns for Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio, who notes that these disruptions are impacting the entire food industry and he doesn’t see an end to either issue anytime soon. “Every day we have a new problem. It’s the new normal. At the beginning we thought it was a crisis - now we know it’s a new normal and we have to adapt to that,” he added.

Adding fuel to the fire, a shortage of truckers that’s been slowing down the supply chain and the ability of grocery stores to replenish their shelves quickly in the past couple of years is likely to intensify as diesel prices skyrocket. That has set alarm bells ringing for many experts, who are flagging higher prices for goods and risks to food supply as truckers pay more for fuel.

"TuckerCarlson just reported that diesel supplies are gone,” Robert Kiyosaki wrote on Twitter. “I went to Safeway and bought 5 tuna cans for $1 each. Stock up now,” he urged, saying that diesel feeds the world and soon there will be huge lines at grocery stores. We must face the fact that the price of basic necessities will keep reaching one record high after the other while the value of our money continues to decline. And we also must take Kiyosaki’s warning seriously and stock up now because when things really start going crazy in this country, basic supplies will disappear from the stores very rapidly."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "Is All Hell About To Break Loose?"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 11/8/22:

"Is All Hell About To Break Loose? IMF Says Again: 

"Inflation May be Peaking!" Really? How About NO"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Judge Napolitano, "Col. Doug Macgregor, Ukraine - Russia War"

Full screen recommended.

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 11/8/22:

"Col. Doug Macgregor, Ukraine - Russia War"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Remember Now"

2002, "Remember Now"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"One of the brightest galaxies in planet Earth's sky is similar in size to our Milky Way Galaxy: big, beautiful Messier 81. Also known as NGC 3031 or Bode's galaxy for its 18th century discoverer, this grand spiral can be found toward the northern constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. 

The sharp, detailed telescopic view reveals M81's bright yellow nucleus, blue spiral arms, pinkish starforming regions, and sweeping cosmic dust lanes. Some dust lanes actually run through the galactic disk (left of center), contrary to other prominent spiral features though. The errant dust lanes may be the lingering result of a close encounter between M81 and the nearby galaxy M82 lurking outside of this frame. M81's faint, dwarf irregular satellite galaxy, Holmberg IX, can be seen just below the large spiral. Scrutiny of variable stars in M81 has yielded a well-determined distance for an external galaxy - 11.8 million light-years."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210312.html

"Remember..."

"Every time you wake up ask yourself what good 

things am I going to do today? Remember that when the 

sun goes down at sunset it will take a part of your life with it."

- Native American Saying

"Meaningful Warnings..."

“There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen. There are open and evident warnings, too. The center of your democracy and of your culture is left without electric power for a few hours only, and all of a sudden crowds of American citizens start looting and creating havoc. The smooth surface film must be very thin, then, the social system quite unstable and unhealthy. But the fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future; it has already started. The forces of Evil have begun their offensive; you can feel their pressure, and yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses. What is the joy about?”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

"The Web Gallery of Art"

"The Web Gallery of Art"

"The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 52,800 reproductions. It was started in 1996 as a topical site of the Renaissance art, originated in the Italian city-states of the 14th century and spread to other countries in the 15th and 16th centuries. Intending to present Renaissance art as comprehensively as possible, the scope of the collection was later extended to show its Medieval roots as well as its evolution to Baroque and Rococo via Mannerism. More recently the periods of Neoclassicism and Romanticism were also included.

The collection has some of the characteristics of a virtual museum. The experience of the visitors is enhanced by guided tours helping to understand the artistic and historical relationship between different works and artists, by period music of choice in the background and a free postcard service. At the same time the collection serves the visitors' need for a site where various information on art, artists and history can be found together with corresponding pictorial illustrations. Although not a conventional one, the collection is a searchable database supplemented by a glossary containing articles on art terms, relevant historical events, personages, cities, museums and churches.

The Web Gallery of Art is intended to be a free resource of art history primarily for students and teachers. It is a private initiative not related to any museums or art institutions, and not supported financially by any state or corporate sponsors. However, we do our utmost, using authentic literature and advice from professionals, to ensure the quality and authenticity of the content.

We are convinced that such a collection of digital reproductions, containing a balanced mixture of interlinked visual and textual information, can serve multiple purposes. On one hand it can simply be a source of artistic enjoyment; a convenient alternative to visiting a distant museum, or an incentive to do just that. On the other hand, it can serve as a tool for public education both in schools and at home."

- https://www.wga.hu/

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For those so inclined, this is a treasure trove of material. Enjoy!

"Luminarium"

"Luminarium"

“I have undertaken a labor, a labor out of love for the world, and to comfort noble hearts: those that I hold dear, and the world to which my heart goes out. Not the common world do I mean, of those who (as I have heard) cannot bear grief and desire but to bathe in bliss. (May God then let them dwell in bliss!) Their world and manner of life my tale does not regard: it's life and mine lie apart. Another world do I hold in mind, which bears together in one heart its bitter sweetness and its dear grief, its heart's delight and its pain of longing, dear life and sorrowful death, dear death and sorrowful life. In this world let me have my world, to be damned with it, or to be saved.”

- Gottfried Von Strassburg


"A comprehensive anthology and guide to English literature of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Seventeenth Century, Restoration and Eighteenth Century. This site combines several sites first created in 1996 to provide a starting point for students and enthusiasts of English Literature. Nothing replaces a quality library, but hopefully this site will help fill the needs of those who have not access to one.

Luminarium is the labor of love of Anniina Jokinen. The site is not affiliated with any institution nor is it sponsored by anyone other than its maintainer and the contributions of its visitors through revenues from book sales via Amazon.com, poster sales via All Posters, and advertising via Google AdSense.

For all materials, authorities in a given subject are consulted. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, and The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English are some of the general reference works consulted for accuracy of dates and details. Many of the materials collected here reside elsewhere. Quality and accuracy are concerns, and all materials are checked regularly. However, "Luminarium" cannot be held responsible for materials residing on other sites. Corrections and suggestions for improvements are encouraged from the visitors.

The site started in early 1996. I remember looking for essays to spark an idea for a survey class I was taking at the time. It seemed that finding study materials online was prohibitively difficult and time-consuming - there was no all-encompassing site which could have assisted me in my search. I started the site as a public service, because I myself had to waste so much time as a student, trying to find anything useful or interesting. There were only a handful of sites back then (read: Internet Dark Ages) and I could spend hours on search engines, looking for just a few things. I realized I must not be the only one in the predicament and started a simple one-page site of links to Middle English Literature. That page was soon followed by a Renaissance site.

Gradually it became obvious that the number of resources was ungainly for such a simple design. It was then that the multi-page "Medlit" and "Renlit" pages were created, around July 1996. That structure is still the same today. In September 1996, I started creating the "Sevenlit" site, launched in November. I realized the need to somehow unite all three sites, and that led to the creation of Luminarium. I chose the name, which is Latin for "lantern," because I wanted the site to be a beacon of light in the darkness. It was also befitting for a site containing authors considered "luminaries" of English literature."

- http://www.luminarium.org/

The Poet: Robinson Jeffers, “Be Angry at the Sun”

“Be Angry at the Sun”

“That public men publish falsehoods

Is nothing new. That America must accept,

Like the historical republics corruption and empire

Has been known for years.

Be angry at the sun for setting

If these things anger you. 

Watch the wheel slope and turn,

They are all bound on the wheel, these people,

Those warriors,

This republic, Europe, Asia.

Observe them gesticulating,

Observe them going down. The gang serves lies,

the passionate Man plays his part; 

the cold passion for truth

Hunts in no pack.

You are not Catullus, you know,

To lampoon these crude sketches of Caesar. You are far

From Dante’s feet, but even farther from his dirty

Political hatreds.

Let boys want pleasure, and men

Struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame,

And the servile to serve a Leader and dupes

to be duped.
Yours is not theirs.”

- Robinson Jeffers, 1941

"I Assure You..."

"You may wonder about long-term solutions. I assure you, there are none. All wounds are mortal. Take what's given. You sometimes get a little slack in the rope but the rope always has an end. So what? Bless the slack and don't waste your breath cursing the drop. A grateful heart knows that in the end we all swing."

- Stephen King

The Daily "Near You?"

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Thanks for stopping by!

"I Am An Invisible Man..."

"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids - and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me."

- Ralph Ellison, "Prologue to Invisible Man"

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“Complexity Theory: the Avalanche and the Snowflake”

“Complexity Theory: the Avalanche and the Snowflake”

by James Rickards

“One of my favorites is what I call ‘the avalanche and the snowflake’. It’s a metaphor for the way the science actually works, but I should be clear: it’s not just a metaphor. The science, the mathematics and the dynamics are actually the same as those that exist in financial markets.

Imagine you’re on a mountainside. You can see a snowpack building up on the ridgeline while it continues snowing. You can tell just by looking at the scene that there’s danger of an avalanche. It’s windswept… it’s unstable… and if you’re an expert, you know it’s going to collapse and kill skiers and wipe out the village below. You see a snowflake fall from the sky onto the snowpack. It disturbs a few other snowflakes that lie there. Then, the snow starts to spread… then it starts to slide… then it gains momentum until, finally, it comes loose and the whole mountain comes down and buries the village.

Question: What do you blame? Do you blame the snowflake, or do you blame the unstable pack of snow? I say the snowflake’s irrelevant. If it wasn’t the one snowflake that caused the avalanche, it could have been the one before, or the one after, or the one tomorrow. The instability of the system as a whole was the problem. So when I think about the risks in the financial system, I don’t focus on the ‘snowflake’ that will cause problems. The trigger doesn’t matter.

A snowflake that falls harmlessly – the vast majority of all snowflakes – technically fails to start a chain reaction. Once a chain reaction begins, it expands exponentially, can ‘go critical’ (as in an atomic bomb) and release enough energy to destroy a city. However, most neutrons do not start nuclear chain reactions, just as most snowflakes do not start avalanches.

In the end, it’s not about the snowflakes or neutrons. It’s about the initial critical state conditions that allow the possibility of a chain reaction or an avalanche. These can be hypothesized and observed at large scale, but the exact moment the chain reaction begins cannot be observed. That’s because it happens on a minute scale relative to the system. This is why some people refer to these snowflakes as ‘black swans’, because they are unexpected and come by surprise. But they’re actually not a surprise if you understand the system’s dynamics and can estimate the system scale.

It’s a metaphor, but really the mathematics behind it are the same. Financial markets today are huge, unstable mountains of snow waiting to collapse. You see it in the gross notional value of derivatives. There is $700 trillion worth of swaps. ($2.5 Quadrillion by other reputable estimates. – CP) These are derivatives off balance sheet, hidden liabilities in the banking system of the world. These numbers are not made up. Just go to the IS annual report and it’s right there in the footnote.

Well, how do you put $700 trillion into perspective? It’s ten times global GDP. Take all the goods and services in the entire world for an entire year. That’s about $70 trillion when you add it all up. Well, take ten times that, and that’s how big the snow pile is. And that’s the avalanche that’s waiting to come down.”

- https://caperebel.com/

"The Real Estate Market is Getting Worse"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 11/8/22:

"The Real Estate Market is Getting Worse"

"Homeowners have lost over $1.5 trillion in equity this year alone. The stock market is in complete shambles and inflation is running rampant."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Stock Up Now At Meijer! Massive Holiday Sale! Don't Miss This!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures with Danno, 11/8/22:

"Stock Up Now At Meijer! 

Massive Holiday Sale! Don't Miss This!"

"In today's vlog we are at Meijer, and are noticing that they are having a huge sale on holiday baking items this month! We are stocking up, and showing the best deals as we take you shopping with us. It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "The Current Global Economic Collapse And Financial System Meltdown Will Accelerate"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 11/8/22:

"The Current Global Economic Collapse 

And Financial System Meltdown Will Accelerate"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"