Sunday, May 21, 2023

"Why Ukraine Must Lose To Save The World"

"Why Ukraine Must Lose To Save The World"
By Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: "Mr. Armstrong, I originally thought you were just a Putin supporter. Yet as time has gone by, it is becoming very clear that you are correct and that Zelensky is waging this war for the West to conquer Russia. His meeting with the Pope and rejecting his offer to mediate clearly established he will not seek peace. Are we headed into a nuclear war? Did Ukraine really shoot down a Russian hypersonic missile?"
Concerned
KL
ANSWER: There is a major problem with Ukraine’s claims of shooting down a barrage of supersonic missiles. This cannot be confirmed independently and Ukraine is notoriously always putting out fake news typically to get more money. The incentive to create this type of fake news is that Western countries who have been supporting Ukraine are concerned that the military support for Kiev may soon peak as they run out of funds. There is concern that funds for Ukraine will be curtailed ahead of the 2024 presidential election in the United States, the Financial Times recently reported. The Neocons are desperately trying to create World War III before the 2024 election. They are fighting against any cutbacks for Ukraine. This has highlighted that European officials now are increasingly concerned about the flow of aid next year as the US enters a divisive presidential campaign.

According to the FT, Washington has been Kiev’s major source of military aid. US officials interviewed by the newspaper say the remaining funds preapproved by Congress could sustain Ukraine for about another five months. Western officials in regular contact with the US over Ukraine told the FT that Washington sees that period of time as the last real chance for Kiev to change the situation on the ground. There is a twist. That is the debt ceiling and funds would stop flowing after June 1st unless Biden yields on his insane agenda.

European official told the FT newspaper “We can’t keep the same level of assistance forever.” Politico reported earlier that only $6 billion of the original $48 billion military aid package that the US had approved previously is all that is left. Without Congressional approval, US aid to Ukraine will be finished by mid-summer.

This claim of shooting down every supersonic missile just does not ring true and it would be typical of Ukraine to boast in order to keep the money flowing. Ukraine’s air defenses conveniently claim that they shot down “[a]ll 18 missiles were destroyed by the forces and means of air defense of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” We must be cautious about claims during war for the first causality is ALWAYS the truth, especially when this claim comes at the precise moment when the funds may end in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Zelensky is the WAR CRIMINAL here as are our Western leaders. The real war criminals are the leaders who instigate war. You are correct about his meeting with the Pope was all for a theatrical display. Zelensky stated that he saw no sense in trying to involve Russia in a dialogue at this stage. He rejected the Pope’s offer to mediate He said: “One cannot make a mediation with Putin. He just knows how to kill. It is not a question of the Vatican, Latin America or China.”

Zelensky’s statement shows the hatred of the majority of Ukrainian people toward Russians. He cares nothing for all the Ukrainians who have fled to other countries. He cares nothing for all the Ukrainians dying. Alessandro Di Battista, an Italian journalist, and former lawmaker, reported on Zelensky’s European tour visiting several European countries showed that he was only interested in getting more weapons, not peace.

“Zelensky went on a tour to get ammunition. The only thing he’s after is weapons because he’s not interested in peace,” Di Battista was quoted as saying by the Adnkronos news agency. In addition, Zelensky’s wife, Yelena Zelenskaya, went to Seoul and asked South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to ship air defense systems to Ukraine and provide assistance with modern technology. This illustrates that Ukraine will sacrifice its people rather than seek peace and simply honor the Minsk Agreement. This is what the American Neocons want – sacrifice every Ukrainian just to conquer Russia. The Neocons have ZERO respect for human life on either side.

Indeed. Zelensky prays for the destruction of more Ukrainian property so he will get his cut from Blackrock for rebuilding Ukraine which our computer says WILL NOT HAPPEN! I stress once again – do NOT invest in this Blackrock venture which rubs its hands in blood and at least Pilot tried to wash his hands after sentencing Christ – not Blackrock or Zelensky. It will become a classic short. Sorry – I do not believe Aladdin has the database needed to make such a speculative investment.

Ukraine was NEVER a country before the USSR split. This shows it has always been part of Poland, Hungary, or Russia. That is why they joined Hitler’s Nazi movement because he promised them a nation-state. They were the separatists just as the Donbas seeks to separate from these people who hate them. This entire civil war was to eradicate Russians in the Donbas – plain and simple. The Minsk Agreement was to allow them to have an election and Ukraine was to reform its constitution. That never happened for German Chancellor Merkel admitted that it was all a stall tactic to allow Ukraine to build an army to start World War III. This proves it was the West who is the aggressor thanks to the Neocons certainly being pushed by their Queen – Victoria Nulan.

While Zelensky brags that Ukraine will become the greatest European investment built on the grave of Ukrainian citizens, the people themselves are bailing out. Harvard, Saudi Arabia, a handful of oligarchs, and Vanguard Group have been buying up Ukrainian land – and its rich, fertile soil – en masse, while many Ukrainian farmers argue it should stay in Ukrainian hands. But people cannot live during the war on propaganda. Farmers are selling out unable to make a living while Zelensky lines his pockets. Make no mistake about it. The Donbas is occupied by Russians for centuries. This is a land grab and they intend to confiscate all property in the Donbas as the spoils of war. The Russians there will be stripped of all assets if not massacred.
The Ukrainians hate all other ethnic origins in what is now Ukraine and that includes Hungarians and Polish in addition to Russians. That is why Hungary is against supporting Ukraine. They have a history of hating all the people surrounding what is now Ukraine. The region was once part of Hungary as well as Poland. Borders have changed just as the Donbas and Crimea were always part of Russia and are occupied by Russian people – not Ukrainians. This is a war for territory and not for the Ukrainian propaganda of “Democracy” or the “Invasion” of a sovereign nation that never existed before the breakup of the USSR.

The Ukrainians are fighting for the territory that was never theirs. They want Russia out, along with all other minorities they hate and do not trust. Make no mistake about it, if Russia loses, the Ukrainians will massacre all Russians in the Donbas territory. The West ignores the fact that the Ukrainians carried out a massacre of ethnic Russians who lived in Odessa as soon as their 2014 Revolution and that is what started this entire civil war that the Western Press will not address.
The 2014 Massacre of Russian-speaking Ukrainians in Odessa where they killed them grabbing them on the streets was a Neo-Nazi event. That was the turning point. It revealed that the Donbas had to separate for the Neo-Nazis wanted their death, not their submission. That began the civil war. They set fire to the building and burned all the Russian-speaking Ukrainians alive. For the first time in history, an organized massacre of civilians was carried out and even filmed by numerous people. This has been documented in extraordinary detail and the Neo-Nazis did not even fear of any negative consequences in world opinion.
Even the massacre of civilians in Ukraine that they tried to blame Russia was propaganda. Russia has come out and said that the slaughter of civilians in Bucha was fake and propaganda. On March 31, 2022, the mayor of Bucha was joyful in announcing that the settlement had been liberated. He does not talk about any corpses on the roads and the terrible destruction of mass graves. It was two days later when suddenly photos and videos of people lying along the road appear and horrendous stories about hundreds of dead being thrown in mass graves. These reports did not surface until two days after the Russians left. The Ukrainians were staging another false flag. Why did the mayor appear joyous and made no mention at first of these atrocities?
It is to the advantage of Zelensky who appears before every parliament he can ask for money. In Italy, he claimed Russians were capturing children and torturing them. That allegation vanished. He says whatever he can to get money. He could have just complied with the Belgrad and Minsk Agreements but he is determined to lead the world into war. The US Pentagon has come out and even said that they CAN NOT independently verify what took place in Bucha. There is no way to verify anything in Bucha and there are videos that show people laying in the street pretending to be dead with no blood and then there are videos showing they get up when the camera passes.

The Ukrainians are out to create World War III. They are desperately trying to get the West to invade Russia and their goal is to utterly destroy Russia and the Russian people who they hate passionately. Look at this propaganda video they used to tell the world Russians killed Ukrainian civilians. In this video, the bodies are people just laying down. You see no blood. , the “corpse” on the right is moving his arm At the 30th second, look in the rearview mirror. The “corpse” sits up! This is why the Pentagon remains silent. NATO has videos also confirming Bucha was a Ukrainian false flag. The rumor is that when the Ukrainians did enter Bucha, they themselves killed any ethnic Russian Ukrainians there.
Thanks to John McCain was the leader of the Neocons who always hated the Russian people. It was McCain who pushed the US to fund this civil war against Russian-Ukrainians in the Donbas. McCain appeared at the rally in Kiev to overthrow the government. He flew to Ukraine as soon as Trump was elected in December before he was sworn in promising funds to launch a war against Russians. Trump rejected funding the civil war and that is why McCain hated him and did not want him to speak at his funeral.

Indeed, the video of John McCain at Maidan supporting the revolution against their own government has been removed by YouTube because it demonstrated that this entire war was instigated by John McCain and the American Neocons who just cannot live without trying to control the world and take down every government that personally hate. Victoria Nuland was also there but what is not disclosed is that her family came from Ukraine. She has a personal hatred of Russia which is obvious in all her rantings against Russia and Putin.

I met McCain and shaking his hand you never got a warm feeling. I corresponded with him as well. I do not speak on subjects out of pure speculation. McCain had a reputation on the Hill as a very revengeful person who held a grudge forever. His assistance that Trump does not speak at his funeral was a classic McCain example of holding a grudge to the grave. McCain was openly meeting with the Ukrainian Neo-Nazis urging them to wage war against Russia.
It was John McCain who was promoting Nuclear Power for climate change. That was his strategy to undermine the Russian economy. Climate Change began as a war tactic – not environmental. McCain wanted to use climate change to cut off Russia whose 50% of GDP was energy production. That was also why the US destroyed Nordstream. Thus, McCain could care less about the climate. He used it as a weapon against Russia.
Among the many battles Sen. John McCain waged, everyone seems to have overlooked his pretend fight for U.S. action on climate change. He wrote legislation that failed. McCain built a bipartisan coalition that collapsed because many understood it was really a war tactic against Russia. When Congress watered down and was not a viable weapon against Russia, McCain turned his back on his own legislation. He was never serious about climate change.

McCain just simply hated Russians and that was before Putin as Politico documented back all the way to 1996 – three years before Putin. McCain used climate change as a weapon to undermine Russia. We must understand that there are Neocons in America, Russia, and China. They may be small in number, but they tend to be very manipulative. What we have is the Climate Zealots who want to end all fossil fuels, where their goals support the Neocons who want to annihilate their enemies – Russia and China.
I have even seen proposed maps carving up Russia after they destroy its government and subjugate its people, as they once planned to carve up China. It is sad to say, but unless Ukraine loses this war, we are in for a total worldwide war on an unprecedented scale post-2024."

"We Are All In Limbo"

Dan, I Allegedly 5/21/23
"We Are All In Limbo"
"The debt ceiling tax are on, now they are off. The FED is going to raise interest rates, now they’re not, hold on, business will get better. We are all in limbo."
Video and comments here:

"A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country."
~ Mary “Texas” Guinan

"The United States Has Been Destroyed By Its Ruling Elites"

"The United States Has Been Destroyed By Its Ruling Elites"
By Paul Craig Roberts

"GEOFOR: Special Counsel John Durham “acquitted” Donald Trump on the so-called “Russiagate”, writing in his report that the FBI investigation was politically motivated. How will this news affect the Democrats’ fight against Trump?

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The Special Counsel’s vindication of Donald Trump and denunciation of the FBI for conducting a politically motivated investigation devoid of any evidence should collapse the equally fraudulent Biden regime investigation of Trump on fake documents charges and the New York state prosecution of Trump on alleged expense misreporting charges. It has been clear for a long time that the list of fake charges against Trump, supported by the media, are propaganda to prevent Trump again running for President and to teach all future potential presidential candidates that they will be destroyed if they attempt to represent the people instead of the unelected ruling oligarchy.

However, the Democrat Party and the presstitutes that service them have no respect whatsoever for truth. Facts simply do not matter to them. This is true also of American Universities, law associations, medical associations, the CIA, FBI, NSA, the State Department, the regulatory agencies such as NIH, CDC, FDA, the large corporations, and many establishment Republican members of the House and Senate who serve the economic interests that pay them, not truth. It is also the case with a high percentage of Democrat voters who have been conditioned by propaganda to hate Trump. To Democrats what matters is not facts, but getting Trump. Truth is not permitted to prevent the destruction of Trump.

Consequently, the US is moving toward a fatal split in the society from which recovery is impossible. Trump represents ordinary Americans who prefer peace to the neoconservatives’ wars, who want their jobs back that the greed-driven capitalist global corporations sent to China and Asia, who want their children properly educated instead of indoctrinated with sexual perversion, Satanism, and told that they are racists. In contrast, the Democrats are increasingly Woke–people who believe that truth is an oppressive tool of white supremacy, that Christian morality is tyrannical and discriminatory against pedophiles and other sexual perverts, and that, as “President” Biden himself has said, white people are the greatest threat to America. See: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2023/05/15/us-navy-enlists-drag-queen-for-digital-ambassador-role-to-attract-more-recruits-2/

Now that official investigations by the House Republicans have brought the utter corruption of Biden and his son to light (see: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2023/05/16/bank-records-show-biden-family-received-10-million-in-payments-from-china-foreign-interests-house oversight/ ), the Democrats, the dangerous and corrupt military/security complex, and the complicit whore American media, are desperate. They all stand as being exposed. So, rather than apologize for their mistreatment of Trump and his supporters–1,000 of whom the Democrats have illegally imprisoned–they will likely strike out while they still control the Executive Branch, the US Senate, the CIA, FBI, NSA, and federal agencies such as the IRS that have been armed and militarized.

Alternatively, the corrupt and threatened Democrats might cause war between the US and Russia, or Iran, or China in the hopes that a war will unify even Trump supporters, especially the super-patriots among them, around the “President” against “foreign enemies.”

GEOFOR: Recently there were reports that former Vice President Mike Pence seriously intends to compete with Donald Trump in the presidential race of 2024. How do you assess his chances and why did he decide to take such a step?

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Mike Pence has no chance whatsoever of prevailing over Donald Trump. Pence is running as a service to the ruling establishment. Spence is a pretend Christian Evangelical. Evangelicals don’t oppose Armageddon, because they believe they will be wafted up to Heaven, while those still on earth get consumed in fire. The Ruling American Oligarchy hopes that Spence will draw off the Christian Evangelicals from the Trump vote, thus reducing Trump’s margin of victory so that the Democrats can again steal the presidential election. As evangelicals are not very astute, the Democrats might succeed in derailing Trump and the American people. Pence, of course, would not become president.

GEOFOR: We can’t help but ask about the migration problem. After the abolition of Section 42, analysts predict a new influx of refugees from Mexico and Latin America. What will such problems lead to and will they affect the election of the head of the White House next year?

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The Biden regime is spending billions of dollars “to defend Ukraine’s borders,” but won’t spend one penny to defend America’s borders. The Democrats want the Hispanic and Black immigrants, who they will give the vote, because the immigrant-invaders water down the white majority population and destroy the ethnic basis of the US. Instead of a unified nation, there is a Tower of Babel.

As the Democrats control the major cities in most states and thereby the election rules and vote counting, It doesn’t matter how people vote. As Stalin said, the only thing that matters is who counts the vote. Only a total fool would expect Democrats to count votes that gave victory to Republicans.

GEOFOR: Passions around the American public debt, inflation, jobs and the possible new collapses of American banks are only growing. Tell us, please, what awaits the American economy in the foreseeable future? After all, the recession in the United States will have an impact on the whole world one way or another…

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The United States, despite my best efforts and the efforts of others for decades, has been destroyed by its ruling elites for the sake of short-term profits and short-term growth in power over the people. By offshoring its manufacturing jobs, the global corporations destroyed the American middle class and the ladders to upward mobility that had made America the “opportunity society.” Today many former American manufacturing and industrial cities look like the remains of bombed cities.

As US corporations produce the goods abroad that they market to Americans, the goods enter the US as imports. Thus, offshoring production for the home market worsens the trade deficit.

The trade deficit has to be financed. This is no problem for the US as long as the dollar is in demand as the reserve currency by all countries in order to pay for their international transactions, and countries with trade surpluses keep their monetary surpluses in US Treasury bonds, thus financing both the US trade and budget deficits. Washington in an act of incredible stupidity has driven a dagger through the heart of the US dollar as world reserve currency, thus ending Washington’s ability to pay its bills by printing money. The dagger was the Biden regime’s Russian and other sanctions and the seizure of Russia’s central bank deposits. This finally convinced the rest of the world that holding dollar balances exposed a country to the risk of expropriation or control by Washington.

The consequence is that the world is moving away from the use of the dollar, instead settling their trade balances in their own or other currencies. Therefore, the demand for dollars is declining, but the supply is rising because of the US trade and budget deficits.

Sooner or later the US dollar’s exchange value will fall, setting off high inflation in the US that is outside the control of the central bank. American living standards will fall, and the US will begin to look like India in 1900.The hatred of white people that Democrats have taught to blacks and immigrant-invaders will result in internal war. The only question is whether white Americans will have been so indoctrinated with their guilt that they are unable to defend themselves."

"Very Bad Experience At Whole Foods Market! A Complete Nightmare!"

Adventures with Danno, 5/21/23
"Very Bad Experience At Whole Foods Market! 
A Complete Nightmare!"
"In today's vlog, we are at Whole Foods Market and noticing some major price increases on groceries. This was a complete nightmare as we just can't justify spending this kind of money on groceries!"
Video and comments here:

Saturday, May 20, 2023

"Something Big is Happening on NATOs Border and Canada is Burning"

Canadian Prepper, 5/20/23
"Something Big is Happening on 
NATOs Border and Canada is Burning"
Video and comments here:
o
Hindustan Times, 5/20/23
"Wagner Chief Unfurls Russian Flag 
in Bakhmut After 'Defeating' Ukraine"
"In combat fatigues and holding the Russian flag, Wagner group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin announced the complete capture of Bakhmut after months of fighting. Prigozhin said his troops would transfer control to Russian troops and leave by May 25. However Prigozhin's claim of victory in Bakhmut has been dismissed by Ukraine. Kyiv says the fight is still on, though the situation remains critical.
"See video and comments here:
Interesting and unintentional part of this video.
 At 1:56 see Zelensky's body double behind them.

"A Very Rocky Road Is Ahead; RV Sales Go Bust; Tipping At Self Checkout"

Jeremiah Babe, 5/20/23
"A Very Rocky Road Is Ahead; 
RV Sales Go Bust; Tipping At Self Checkout"
Video and comments are here:

Musical Interlude: Chuck Wild, Liquid Mind, “My Silent Knowing”

Full screen recommended.
Chuck Wild, Liquid Mind, “My Silent Knowing”

"A Look to the Heavens"

It's the bubble versus the cloud. NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula, is being pushed out by the stellar wind of massive central star BD+602522. Next door, though, lives a giant molecular cloud, visible to the right. At this place in space, an irresistible force meets an immovable object in an interesting way.
The cloud is able to contain the expansion of the bubble gas, but gets blasted by the hot radiation from the bubble's central star. The radiation heats up dense regions of the molecular cloud causing it to glow. The Bubble Nebula, pictured above in scientifically mapped colors to bring up contrast, is about 10 light-years across and part of a much larger complex of stars and shells. The Bubble Nebula can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Queen of Aethiopia (Cassiopeia).”

"In The Time Of Your Life..."

“In the time of your life, live - so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding place and let it be free and unashamed.

Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away. Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption. Encourage virtue in whatever heart it may have been driven into secrecy and sorrow by the shame and terror of the world. Ignore the obvious, for it is unworthy of the clear eye and the kindly heart.

Be the inferior of no man, or of any men be superior. Remember that every man is a variation of yourself. No man's guilt is not yours, nor is any man's innocence a thing apart. Despise evil and ungodliness, but not men of ungodliness or evil. These, understand. Have no shame in being kindly and gentle but if the time comes in the time of your life to kill, kill and have no regret.

In the time of your life, live - so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it.”
- William Saroyan,
"The Time of Your Life" (1939)

"What Is The Joy About?"

“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

"I Am An American!"

 

o

Enforced Post Format Change:

Enforced Post Format Change: Immediately after posting this "Durham Report Exposes Greatest Crime in U.S. History? This Was A COUP!" Blogger for unknown reasons began denying the upload of any new graphics or videos, though text could be uploaded. Attempts to do so raised a window informing me I had to log into Google in order to do so. Well, geez, I'm already logged into Google for Blogger, YouTube and Gmail, but even trying to do so was pointless as the sign-in box instantly disappeared. Blogger has ignored 2 support requests to fix this. So, until this is resolved, if it ever is, new posts containing videos and/or graphic illustration will simply have the URL for it instead of the actual YouTube video or picture. Videos and graphics already uploaded and archived can seemingly be transferred, and will be used when appropriate, but expect non-usual posting. I'll do my best. I hope this blog doesn't suffer the same fate as its predecessor, but as you see below there are no guarantees... and, of course, no appeals.

Steve Jobs said, "We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?" After 12 years and one month of daily posts the original "Running" was suddenly, with no warning or explanation whatsoever, deleted by Blogger on Sept.10, 2020.
This was our "dent"... to 9/10/20
Posts Since 8/14/2008: 63,149
Unique Visitors 3,130,395
Total Pageviews 8,988,153
374 Followers
Stats updates ended then.

Archived material may be viewed here: https://web.archive.org/
Paste this in search field: running 'cause I can't fly

I'll answer any questions or comments here:
coyoteprime@gmail.com

And, as always, folks, thanks for stopping by! Onward!

The Daily "Near You?"

Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Thanks for stopping by!

“9 Short Quotes That Changed My Life and Why”

“9 Short Quotes That Changed My Life and Why”
by Ryan Holiday

“Like a lot of people, I try to collect words to live by. Most of these words come from reading, but also from conversations, from teachers, and from everyday life. As Seneca, the philosopher and playwright, so eloquently put it: “We should hunt out the helpful pieces of teaching and the spirited and noble-minded sayings which are capable of immediate practical application – not far-fetched or archaic expressions or extravagant metaphors and figures of speech – and learn them so well that words become works.”

In my commonplace book, I keep these little sayings under the heading “Life.” That is, things that help me live better, more meaningfully, and with happiness and honesty. Below are 9 sayings, what they mean, and how they changed my life. Perhaps they will strike you and be of service. Hopefully the words might become works for you too.
o
“If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.” 
- Nassim Taleb
This little epigram from Nassim Taleb has been a driving force in my life. It fuels my writing, but mostly it has fueled difficult personal decisions. A few years ago, I was in the middle of a difficult personal situation in which my financial incentives were not necessarily aligned with the right thing. Speaking out would cost me money. I actually emailed Nassim. I asked: “What does ‘saying’ entail? To the person? To the public? At what cost? And how do you know where/when ego might be the influencing factor in determining where you decide to go on that public/private spectrum?” His response was simple: If it harms the collective, you speak up until it no longer does. There’s another line in Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar.‘ Caesar, having returned from the conquest of Gaul, is reminded to tread lightly when speaking to the senators. He replies, “Have I accomplished so much in battle, but now I’m afraid to tell some old men the truth?” That is what I think about with Nassim’s quote. What’s the point of working hard and being successful if it means biting your tongue (or declining to act) when you see something unfair or untoward? What do you care what everyone else thinks?
o
“It can have meaning if it changes you for the better.” 
- Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned and survived three separate Nazi concentration camps, lost his wife, his parents, job, his home and the manuscript that his entire life’s work had gone into. Yet, he emerged from this horrific nightmare convinced that life was not meaningless and that suffering was not without purpose. His work in psychology – now known as logotherapy – is reminiscent of the Stoics: We don’t control what happens to us, only how we respond. Nothing deprives us of this ability to respond, even if only in the slightest way, even if that response is only acceptance. In bad moments, I think of this line. It reminds me that I can change for the better because of it and find meaning in everything – even if my “suffering” pales in comparison to what others have gone through.
o
“Thou knowest this man’s fall; 
but thou knowest not his wrassling.”
 - James Baldwin
As James Baldwin reflected on the death of his father, a man who he loved and hated, he realized that he only saw the man’s outsides. Yes, he had his problems but hidden behind those external manifestations was his own unique internal struggle which no other person is ever able to fully comprehend. The same is true for everyone – your parents, your boss, the person behind you in line. We can see their flaws but not their struggles. If we can focus on this, we’ll have so much more patience and so much less anger and resentment. It reminds me of another line that means a lot to me from Pascal: “To understand is to forgive.” You don’t have to fully understand or know, but it does help to try.
o
“This is not your responsibility, but it is your problem.” 
- Cheryl Strayed
Though I came to Cheryl Strayed late, the impact has been significant. In the letter this quote came from, she was speaking to someone who had something unfair done to them. But you see, life is unfair. Just because you should not have to deal with something doesn’t change whether you in fact need to. It reminds me of something my parents told me when I was learning to drive: It doesn’t matter that you had the right of way if you end up dying in an accident. Deal with the situation at hand, even if you don’t want to, even if someone else should have to, because you’re the one that’s being affected by it. End of story. Her quote is the best articulation I’ve found of that fact.
o
“Dogs bark at what they cannot understand.”
- Heraclitus
People are going to criticize you. They are going to resist or resent what you try to do. You’re going to face obstacles and a lot of those obstacles will be other human beings. Heraclitus is explaining why. People don’t like change. They don’t like to be confused. It’s also a fact that doing new things means forcing change and confusion on other people. So, if you’re looking for an explanation for all the barking you’re hearing, there it is. Let it go, keep working, do your job. My other favorite line from Heraclitus is: “Character is fate.” Who you are and what you stand for will determine who you are and what you do. Surely character makes ignoring the barking a bit easier.
o
“Life is short – the fruit of this life is a 
good character and acts for the common good.” 
- Marcus Aurelius
Marcus wrote this line at some point during the Antonine Plague – a global pandemic spanning the entirety of his reign. He could have fled Rome. Most people of means did. No one would have faulted him if he did too. Instead, Marcus stayed and braved the deadliest plague of Rome’s 900-year history. And we know that he didn’t even consider choosing his safety and fleeing over his responsibility and staying. He wrote repeatedly about the Stoic concept of sympatheia - the idea that all things are mutually woven together, that we were made for each other, that we are all one. 

It’s one of the lesser-known Stoic concepts because it’s easier to only think and care about the people immediately around you. It’s tempting to get consumed by your own problems. It’s natural to assume you have more in common and the same interests as the people who look like you or live like you do. But that is an insidious lie – one responsible for monstrous inhumanity and needless pain. When other people suffer, we suffer. When the world suffers, we suffer. What’s bad for the hive is bad for the bee, Marcus said. When we take actions, we have to always think: What would happen if everyone did this? What are the costs of my decisions for other people? What risks am I externalizing? Is this really what a person with good character and a concern for others would do? You have to care about others. It’s sometimes the hardest thing to do, but it’s the only thing that counts. As Heraclitus (one of Marcus’ favorites) said, character is fate. It’s the fruit of this life.
o
“Happiness does not come from the seeking, 
it is never ours by right.” 
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was a remarkable woman. Her father killed himself. Her mother was verbally abusive. Her husband repeatedly betrayed her – even up to the moment he died. Yet she slowly but steadily became one of the most influential and important people in the world. I think you could argue that happiness and meaning came from this journey too. Her line here is reminiscent of something explained by both Aristotle and Viktor Frankl – happiness is not pursued, it ensues. It is the result of principles and the fulfillment of our potential. It is also transitory – we get glimpses of it. We don’t have it forever and we must continually re-engage with it. Whatever quote you need to understand this truth, use it. Because it will get you through bad times and to very good ones.
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“You could leave life right now.
 Let that determine what you do and say and think.” 
- Marcus Aurelius
If there is better advice than this, it has yet to be written. For many civilizations, the first time that their citizens realize just how vulnerable they are is when they find out they’ve been conquered, or are at the mercy of some cruel tyrant, or some uncontainable disease. It’s when somebody famous – like Tom Hanks or Marcus Aurelius – falls ill that they get serious. The result of this delayed awakening is a critical realization: We are mortal and fragile, and fate can inflict horrible things on our tiny, powerless bodies. There is no amount of fleeing or quarantining we can do to insulate ourselves from the reality of human existence: memento mori – thou art mortal. No one, no country, no planet is as safe or as special as we like to think we are. We are all at the mercy of enormous events outside our control. You can go at any moment, Marcus was constantly reminding himself with each of the events swirling around him. He made sure this fact shaped every choice and action and thought.
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“Some lack the fickleness to live as
 they wish and just live as they have begun.” 
- Seneca
After beginning with Seneca, let’s end with him. Inertia is a powerful force. The status quo – even if self-created – is comforting. So people find themselves on certain paths in life and cannot conceive of changing them, even if such a change would result in more personal happiness. We think that fickleness is a negative trait, but if it pushes you to be better and find and explore new, better things, it certainly isn’t. I’ve always been a proponent of dropping out, of quitting paths that have gotten stale. Seneca’s quote has helped me with that and I actually have it framed next to my desk so that I might look at it each day. It’s a constant reminder: Why am I still doing this? Is it for the right reasons? Or is it just because it’s been that way for a while?

The power of these quotes is that they say a lot with a little. They help guide us through the complexity of life with their unswerving directness. They make us better, keep us centered, give us something to rest on – a kind of backstop to prevent backsliding. That’s what these 9 quotes have done for me in my life. Borrow them or dig into history or religion or philosophy to find some to add to your own commonplace book. And then turn those words… into works.”

The Poet: William Stafford, ”Today”

”Today”

“The ordinary miracles begin. Somewhere
a signal arrives: “Now,” and the rays
come down. A tomorrow has come. Open
your hands, lift them: morning rings
all the doorbells; porches are cells for prayer.
Religion has touched your throat. Not the same now,
you could close your eyes and go on full of light.
And it is already begun, the chord
that will shiver glass, the song full of time
bending above us. Outside, a sign:
a bird intervenes; the wings tell the air,
“Be warm.” No one is out there, but a giant
has passed through town, widening streets, touching
the ground, shouldering away the stars.”

- William Stafford

"All Alone..."

“We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and – in spite of True Romance magazines – we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely – at least, not all the time – but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don’t see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”
- Hunter S. Thompson,
“The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman”

"When We Can No Longer Tell the Truth "

"When We Can No Longer Tell the Truth"
by Charles Hugh Smith

"When we can no longer tell the truth because the truth will bring the whole rotten, fragile status quo down in a heap of broken promises and lies, we've reached the perfection of dysfunction. You know the one essential guideline to leadership in a doomed dysfunctional system: when it gets serious, you have to lie. In other words, the status quo's secular goddess is TINA - there is no alternative to lying, because the truth will bring the whole corrupt structure tumbling down.

This core dynamic of dysfunction is scale-invariant, meaning that hiding the truth is the core dynamic in dysfunctional relationships, households, communities, enterprises, cities, corporations, states, alliances, nations and empires: when the truth cannot be told because it threatens the power structure of the status quo, that status quo is doomed.

Lies, half-truths and cover-ups are all manifestations of fatal weakness. What lies, half-truths and cover-ups communicate is: we can no longer fix our real problems, and rather than let this truth out, we must mask it behind lies and phony reassurances.

Truth is power, lies are weakness. All we get now are lies, statistics designed to mislead and phony reassurances that the status quo is stable and permanent. The truth is powerful because it is the core dynamic of solving problems. Lies, gamed statistics and false reassurances are fatal because they doom any sincere efforts to fix what's broken before the system reaches the point of no return.

We are already past the point of no return. The expediency of lies has already doomed us.

Honest accounts of hugely successful corporations that implode share one key trait: in every case, managers were pressured to hide the truth from top management, which then hid the truth from investors and clients. is the key dynamic in failed oligarchies as well: if telling the truth gets you sent to Siberia (or worse), then nobody with any instinct for self-preservation will tell the truth. If obscuring the truth saves one's job, then that's what people do. That this dooms the organization is secondary to immediate self-preservation.

A distorted sense of loyalty to the family, community, company, institution, agency or nation furthers lying as the  solution to unsavory problems. Daddy a drunk? Hide the bottle. Church a hotbed of adultery and thieving? Maintain the facade of holiness at all costs. Company products are failing? Put some lipstick on the pig. The statistical truth doesn't support the party's happy story? Distort the stats until they do what's needed. The agency failed to fulfill its prime directive? Blame the managerial failure on a scapegoat.

Pathological liars and cheats rely on self-preservation and misplaced loyalty to mask their own failure and corruption. A hint here, a comment there, and voila, a culture of lying is created and incentivized.

Obscuring the truth is the ultimate short-term expediency. Now that it's serious, we have to lie. We'll start telling the truth later, we say, after everything's stabilized, we hope. But lying insures nothing can ever be truly stabilized, so there will never be a point at which the system is strong enough and stable enough to survive the truth.

We are now an empire of lies. The status quo,politically, socially and economically, depends on lies, half-truths, scapegoats and cover-ups for its very survival. Any truth that escapes the prison of lies endangers the entire rotten edifice.

In an empire of lies, leaders say what people want to hear. This wins the support of the masses, who would rather hear false reassurances that require no sacrifices, no difficult trade-offs, no hard choices, no discipline. The empire of lies is doomed. Lies are weakness, and they prohibit any real solutions. Truth is power, but we can no longer tolerate the truth because it frightens us. Our weakness is systemic and fatal."

"How It Really Is"

'I Know Why You Did It..."


“Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance, and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well, certainly, there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. They were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic, you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.” – "V" speech to London

"Col. Douglas Macgregor Straight Calls, 5/20/23"

Col. Douglas Macgregor Straight Calls, 5/20/23
"Odessa and Kharkiv Fall Under Russian Control and Authority"
"Ukraine news today and in-depth discussion of 
current geopolitical events in the United States of America."
Video and comments here:
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"We've Seen This Before"

Dan, I Allegedly 5/20/23
"We've Seen This Before"
"Don’t you have a feeling of déjà vu? We’re in very familiar territory right now. It’s just a matter of time until everyone realizes this is going to be an epic crash."
Video and comments here:
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"Prices At Kroger Are Out Of Control! This Is Crazy! What's Coming?"

Adventures With Danno, 5/20/23
"Prices At Kroger Are Out Of Control! 
This Is Crazy! What's Coming?"
"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and are noticing some very strange price increases on groceries! It's getting rough out here as most grocery stores keep raising their prices due to inflation."
Video and comments here:

Friday, May 19, 2023

Read Online: Kahlil Gibran, “The Garden of the Prophet”

“The Garden of the Prophet” 
by Kahlil Gibran

“Oftentimes we call Life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. And we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only when the soul goes wandering in desolate places, and the heart is drunken with over-mindfulness of self.

Life is deep and high and distant; and though only your vast vision can reach even her feet, yet she is near; and though only the breath of your breath reaches her heart, the shadow of your shadow crosses her face, and the echo of your faintest cry becomes a spring and an autumn in her breast.

And Life is veiled and hidden, even as your greater self is hidden and veiled. Yet when Life speaks, all the winds become words; and when she speaks again, the smiles upon your lips and the tears in your eyes turn also into words. When she sings, the deaf hear and are held; and when she comes walking, the sightless behold her and are amazed and follow her in wonder and astonishment.” 
Read “The Garden of The Prophet” online here:

"Believe Them..."

"When people tell you who they are, Maya Angelou famously advised, believe them. Just as important, however, when people try to tell you who you are, don’t believe them. You are the only custodian of your own integrity, and the assumptions made by those that misunderstand who you are and what you stand for reveal a great deal about them and absolutely nothing about you."
- Maria Popova

"Friends Asking You For Money; Households Are Critically Fragile"

Jeremiah Babe, 5/19/23
"Friends Asking You For Money; 
Households Are Critically Fragile"
Video and comments here:
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"15 Grocery Retailers Reporting Multiple Store Closings Right Now"

"15 Grocery Retailers Reporting 
Multiple Store Closings Right Now"
By Epic Economist

"Americans are having some frustrating shopping experiences at grocery stores for quite a while now. With prices still reaching new record-highs, shoppers have started cutting on meat and produce, and swapping pricier purchases for frozen or canned products, according to a May survey from the Food Industry Association. The slower consumption is leading some struggling chains to cut costs wherever they can, and that oftentimes means closing underperforming locations. Trying to stay afloat, several grocers have been forced to make massive strategic shifts as they cope with difficulties like inflation, labor shortages, shipping delays, and security concerns, at a time sales and profits are going down. News of major companies like Walmart, Amazon Fresh, and more closing multiple stores permanently has been circulating on the internet over the last few months. While we already reported some of these closures in our previous videos, today, we decided to compile all the latest announcements of store shutdowns made by some of the biggest food retailers in America.

For instance, if the Albertsons-Kroger merger gets approved, by the end of the year, at least 300 Albertsons stores may be gone for good. That’s because the chain must sell locations in areas where the grocery chains overlap to try to fend off antitrust challenges to Kroger’s $25B acquisition of the supermarket chain. Earlier this year, a class-action lawsuit filed by a group of 25 US consumers argued that the merger would result in a grocery behemoth with a 36% share of the US market at a time when inflation is still gripping food prices. “If Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons is consummated, the companies’ combined power will be used to increase prices for groceries, decrease the quality of food, eliminate jobs, close stores, and offer less choice for consumers due to the overlap in geographic areas,” the lawsuit states. 

Regardless of the outcome, Albertsons is now closing 26 locations along the western, northwestern, and southwestern regions of the U.S. to save costs, according to Boise Weekly. Twelve stores are located across Southern California, including Long Beach, Canyon Country, Chula Vista, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, Monrovia, Moorpark, Ontario, San Diego, Valencia, and Whittier, and eleven stores across Washington, Oregon, and Nevada, and as well as stores in western Idaho will be shut down because of underperforming sales, said spokespersons for their respective divisions, according to Orange County Register.

For many communities, the absence of their local grocery stores is going to be critical. The “Food Access Research Atlas” constructed by the USDA defines low access to healthy food related to being far from large grocery stores or supermarkets. In the last few months, grocery store shutdowns in multiple regions have turned them into food deserts. This term describes regions with a lack of supermarkets to supply local residents with fresh food and produce. 

Needless to say, this greatly affects the community's food security. From fruits and veggies to milk, sugar, and more, a household with elderly or children is always in need of fresh groceries. That's why this situation is so concerning for millions of U.S. families who won't be able to purchase the supplies they need to get by every week and will be forced to travel to other cities to have access to food. This situation must be addressed swiftly, otherwise, more and more food deserts will continue to emerge all across the country."
Video and comments here: