"Live all you can; it's a mistake not to. It doesn't so much
matter what you do in particular, so long as you have your life.
If you haven't had that, what have you had?"
- Henry James
So, we rise from the rubble...
Thursday, July 20, 2023
"Perhaps It's Just As Well..."
“It’s extraordinary how we go through life with eyes half shut,
with dull ears, with dormant thoughts. Perhaps it’s just as well;
and it may be that it is this very dullness that makes
life to the incalculable majority so supportable and so welcome.”
– Joseph Conrad, “Lord Jim”
"It May Be Then..."
"Passion doesn't count the cost. Pascal said that the heart has its reasons that reason takes no account of. If he meant what I think, he meant that when passion seizes the heart it invents reasons that seem not only plausible but conclusive to prove that the world is well lost for love. It convinces you that honor is well sacrificed and that shame is a cheap price to pay. Passion is destructive. It destroyed Antony and Cleopatra, Tristan and Isolde, Parnell and Kitty O'Shea. And if it doesn't destroy it dies. It may be then that one is faced with the desolation of knowing that one has wasted the years of one's life, that one's brought disgrace upon oneself, endured the frightful pang of jealousy, swallowed every bitter mortification, that one's expended all one's tenderness, poured out all the riches of one's soul on a poor drab, a fool, a peg on which one hung one's dreams, who wasn't worth a stick of chewing gum."
- W. Somerset Maugham
"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time;
it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."
- Sydney J. Harris
“Life Lessons From a Psychiatrist Who’s Been Listening to People’s Problems For Decades”
“Life Lessons From a Psychiatrist Who’s Been
Listening to People’s Problems For Decades”
by Thomas Oppong
“How you approach life says a lot about who you are. As I get deeper into my late 30s I have learned to focus more on experiences that bring meaning and fulfilment to my life. I try to consistently pursue life goals that will make me and my closest relations happy; a trait that many individuals search for their entire lives. Nothing gives a person inner wholeness and peace like a distinct understanding of where they are going, how they can get there, and a sense of control over their actions.
Seneca once said, “Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.” “No people can be truly happy if they do not feel that they are choosing the course of their own life,” stated the World Happiness Report 2012. The report also found that having this freedom of choice is one of the six factors that explain why some people are happier than others.
In his best-selling first book, “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart: Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now”, Dr Gordon Livingston, a psychiatrist who’s been listening to people’s problems for decades, revealed thirty bedrock truths about life, and how best to live it. In his capacity as a psychiatrist, Dr Livingston listened to people talk about their lives and the many ways people induced unhappiness on themselves. In his book, he brings his insight and wisdom to the subjects of happiness, fear and courage.
“Life’s two most important questions are “Why?” and “Why not?” The trick is knowing which one to ask.” Acquiring some understanding of why we do things is often a prerequisite to change. This is especially true when talking about repetitive patterns of behavior that do not serve us well. This is what Socrates meant when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That more of us do not take his advice is testimony to the hard work and potential embarrassment that self-examination implies.”
Most people operate on autopilot, doing the same things today that didn’t work yesterday. They rarely stop to measure the impact of their actions on themselves and others, and how those actions affect their total well-being. They are caught in a cycle. And once you get caught in the loop, it can be difficult to break free and do something meaningful. Past behavior is the most reliable predictor of future behavior.
If your daily actions and choices are making you unhappy, make a deliberate choice to change direction. No matter how bleak or desperate a situation may appear to look, you always have a choice. “People often come to me asking for medication. They are tired of their sad mood, fatigue, and loss of interest in things that previously gave them pleasure. ”…“Their days are routine: unsatisfying jobs, few friends, lots of boredom. They feel cut off from the pleasures enjoyed by others.
Here is what I tell them: The good news is that we have effective treatments for the symptoms of depression; the bad news is that medication will not make you happy. Happiness is not simply the absence of despair. It is an affirmative state in which our lives have both meaning and pleasure.” “In general we get, not what we deserve, but what we expect,” he says.
Most people know what is good for them, they know what will make them feel better. They don’t avoid meaningful life habits because of ignorance of their value, but because they are no longer “motivated” to do them, Dr Livingston found. They are waiting until they feel better. Frequently, it’s a long wait, he says. Life is too short to wait for a great day to invest in better life experiences.
Most unhappiness is self-induced, Dr Livingston found. “The three components of happiness are something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to. Think about it. If we have useful work, sustaining relationships, and the promise of pleasure, it is hard to be unhappy. I use the term “work” to encompass any activity, paid or unpaid, that gives us a feeling of personal significance. If we have a compelling avocation that lends meaning to our lives, that is our work, ” says Dr Livingston.
Many experiences in life that bring happiness are in your control. The more choices you are able to exercise, and control, the happier you are likely to be. “Happiness is an inside job. Don’t assign anyone else that much power over your life,” says Mandy Hale. Many people wait for something to happen or someone to help them live their best lives. They expect others to make them happy. They think they have lost the ability to improve their lives.
The thing that characterizes those who struggle emotionally is that they have lost, or believe they have lost, their ability to choose those behaviors that will make them happy, says Dr Livingston. You are responsible for your own life experiences, whether you are seeking a meaningful life or a happy life. If you expect others to make you happy, you will always be disappointed.
You can consistently choose actions that could become everyday habits. It takes time, but it’s an investment that will be worth your while. “Virtually all the happiness-producing processes in our lives take time, usually a long time: Learning new things, changing old behaviors, building new relationships, raising children. This is why patience and determination are among life’s primary virtues,”
Most people are stuck in life because of fear. Fear of everything outside their safe zones. Your mind has a way of rising to the occasion. Challenge it, and it will reward you. Your determination to overcome fear and discouragement constitutes the only effective antidote to that feeling on unhappiness you don’t want. Dr Livingston explains. “The most secure prisons are those we construct for ourselves. I frequently ask people who are risk-averse, “What is the biggest chance you have ever taken?” People begin to realize what “safe” lives they have chosen to lead.”
“Everything we are afraid to try, all our unfulfilled dreams, constitute a limitation on what we are and could become. Usually it is fear and its close cousin, anxiety, that keep us from doing those things that would make us happy. So much of our lives consists of broken promises to ourselves. The things we long to do — educate ourselves, become successful in our work, fall in love — are goals shared by all. Nor are the means to achieve these things obscure. And yet we often do not do what is necessary to become the people we want to be.”
As you increasingly install experiences of acceptance, gratitude, accomplishment, and feeling that there’s a fullness in your life rather than an emptiness or a scarcity, you will be able to deal with the issues of life better.
Closing thoughts: Dr Livingston’s words feel true and profound. The real secret to a happy life is selective attention, he says. If you choose to focus your awareness and energy on things and people that bring you pleasure and satisfaction, you have a very good chance of being happy in a world full of unhappiness, uncertainty, and fear."
Bill Bonner, "The Bold and the Delusional"
"The Bold and the Delusional"
Bidenomics, trans markets and the lessons from the 1929 crash...
By Bill Bonner
“You’re right, we did it. We’re very sorry. But thanks to you, we won’t do it again.” ~ Ben Bernanke at a conference honoring Milton Friedman in 2002, explaining that the Fed learned from Friedman to increase the money supply to avoid bank failures.
The Fed has increased its key rate from ‘zero’ to 5% º the biggest, fastest “tightening” in history. Those higher interest rates caused the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th largest bank failures in US history. The federal government rescued bank depositors, effectively backstopping the whole banking system. Since then, the economy has not gone into a much-anticipated recession….and the stock market has not followed through on its long-overdue correction. To the contrary, The Wall Street Journal reports: "Investors are Feeling Bold Again." "Tech stocks are rising maniacally spilling into meme stocks. The cryptoverse is enjoying a resurgence. The market looks a lot like it did in 2021--right before stocks entered a deep slump."
What’s the secret? Joe Biden modestly claims it is he. “Bidenomics,” he says, has kept the job offers and stock bids coming. And in a way, he is right. Remember, it is either ‘inflate or die;’ Bidenomics keeps the money coming.
The Financial Times explains: "…the US has started to look exceptional in a bad way. Once typical, it is now the biggest deficit spender in the developed world. During the pandemic, the US budget deficit tripled to more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product, more than double the peak in other developed economies. In coming years, the US deficit is expected to average close to 6 per cent of GDP — well above its historic norm, and a full six times the average in other developed economies."
How did the US steer so deeply into the red? Most countries have ended the spending programs that were launched to ease the pain of pandemic-induced lockdowns. But all the $6.7tn in new spending from the Biden administration came after 2020 was over. Most of it had nothing to do with pandemic relief.
Trans Markets: Let’s put it in perspective. We are in a ‘transition period’…between one primary trend and another. From extremely low interest rates…we believe we are headed to higher ones. From overvalued stocks, bonds and real estate…we expect prices to fall (in real terms) for many years to come. But in a transition phase, things are never so clear. There are dips and there are bounces. They don’t tell you which is which.
After stocks crashed in October 1929, for example, investors were puzzled. Was that it? Was it over? Was it time to pick up the pieces and go back into the stock market? Many thought so. And what followed was a series of bounces, rallies, and sell-offs…leaving investors with a serious feeling of disappointment and disorientation.
The first reaction, from November 1929 to April 1930, lifted spirits greatly. Investors thought the worst was clearly behind them. With nearly 50% gains in their pockets already, they thought they saw much more to come. But the bounce turned out to be a dud. After a 17% loss for 1929, stocks lost another 33% in 1930.
Another Bounce: And then there was another bounce…and another…and another…all the way to the bottom of the staircase. Michael Batnick reports on what happened in 1932: "Even after losing 17, 34 and 53% over the previous three years, in the four months from March 8 to July 8, the Dow lost 53.6% of its value! The most insane bear market rally of all time followed in the summer as the Dow Industrials gained 93% in just two months. Over this eight week period, Rails tripled and the Utilities doubled."
But the bear market wasn’t over. After the summer fireworks came more autumn showers…stocks went back down and by the end of 1932, the Dow was down nearly 90%. Warner Bros., the Apple of the time, lost 98% of its value. Our guess is that we are at the very beginning of a similar debacle. Back then, however, the feds had no ‘inflate or die’ choice. They couldn’t inflate, because the dollar was tied to gold; it couldn’t be ‘printed.’ It had to be earned. This left ‘die’ as the only option. Which is what happened. The Bubble of ’29 died.
The death of the Roaring Twenties probably would have gone without much notice, but the feds intervened. Boom to bust…bust to boom…that is just the way a free, healthy economy works. The feds sought to correct the correction by laying on heavy rules and regulations, including measures to prevent much-needed price cuts. The result was to turn a routine correction into a Great Depression.
Then, rather than admit their own role in the Great Depression, economists argued that the Depression was caused by a sin of omission, not commission. Specifically, Milton Friedman claimed that the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations made a mistake. They were too timid; they should have put more money into the system and backstopped the banks then the way the Biden Administration just did.
And now that we have a new, more flexible money system…and both political parties in favor of more spending…they won’t make that mistake again. This time, they will make a much worse mistake. Stay tuned for more on Bidenomics."
Must View! "Banks Are About to Pop!"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 7/20/23
"Banks Are About to Pop!"
"We just heard from Morgan Stanley, JP, Morgan, Bank of America, and even Wells Fargo. They all say that they are putting money together as a reserve for bad loans. This is a huge problem because they all see commercial loans as the thing that’s going to pop next and destroy the economy."
Comments here:
When the banks are gone, and they will be, what then?
"Survival Tools"
Listen folks, this is no stupid melodrama! We're out of time! Whether you want to know it or not we're literally in the fight of our lives, for our lives, right now, and it's going to get much, much worse. It is never going back to "normal." Some of you reading this will not survive, and I may not either, so I'll take any edge I can get, and you should too. These work for me. Be as aware as possible and prepare yourself, take whatever proactive actions you can to protect yourself and your family and brace for impact... God help us...
- CP
Full screen recommended.
"Cognition Enhancer For Clearer and Faster Thinking"
by Jason Lewis - Mind Amend
"This is a high-intensity audio brainwave entrainment session, using isochronic tones. Listen to this when you need a strong burst of intense focus to concentrate and study things like advanced mathematics, scientific formulas, financial analysis or any other complex mental activity. Listen to this track with your eyes open while doing the task/activity you want to focus on. Use this session in the morning, afternoon or early evening, to train your brain for better cognition, focus and thought processing. You can either sit somewhere quiet and comfortable with your eyes closed and give your brain a nice workout, or you can also listen to this while doing an activity that requires a boost in concentration.
Headphones are NOT REQUIRED for this video. Although headphones are not required you may find they produce a more intense effect, because they help to block out distracting external sounds.
"Isochronic tones are a fast and effective audio-based way to stimulate your brain. Among many of the benefits, they can help improve focus, relaxation, energy levels, sleep and more, without taking drugs or needing any special equipment. What isochronic tones essentially do is guide your dominant brainwave activity to a different frequency while you are listening to them, allowing you to influence and change your mental state and how you feel."
I strongly suggest you read Comments here:
"Isochronic Tones –
How They Work, the Benefits and the Research"
This is a brainwave entrainment audio session using isochronic tones combined with music. The isochronic tones are the repetitive beats you can hear on top of the music throughout the track. If you are new to this type of audio brainwave entrainment, find out how isochronic tones work and how they compare to binaural beats here:
○
Full screen highly recommended.
“Neuroscience Says Listening to This Song
Reduces Anxiety by Up to 65 Percent”
By Melanie Curtin
“Everyone knows they need to manage their stress. When things get difficult at work, school, or in your personal life, you can use as many tips, tricks, and techniques as you can get to calm your nerves. So here’s a science-backed one: make a playlist of the 10 songs found to be the most relaxing on earth. Sound therapies have long been popular as a way of relaxing and restoring one’s health. For centuries, indigenous cultures have used music to enhance well-being and improve health conditions.
Now, neuroscientists out of the UK have specified which tunes give you the most bang for your musical buck. The study was conducted on participants who attempted to solve difficult puzzles as quickly as possible while connected to sensors. The puzzles induced a certain level of stress, and participants listened to different songs while researchers measured brain activity as well as physiological states that included heart rate, blood pressure, and rate of breathing.
According to Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson of Mindlab International, which conducted the research, the top song produced a greater state of relaxation than any other music tested to date. In fact, listening to that one song- “Weightless”- resulted in a striking 65 percent reduction in participants’ overall anxiety, and a 35 percent reduction in their usual physiological resting rates. That is remarkable.
Equally remarkable is the fact the song was actually constructed to do so. The group that created “Weightless”, Marconi Union, did so in collaboration with sound therapists. Its carefully arranged harmonies, rhythms, and bass lines help slow a listener’s heart rate, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
When it comes to lowering anxiety, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Stress either exacerbates or increases the risk of health issues like heart disease, obesity, depression, gastrointestinal problems, asthma, and more. More troubling still, a recent paper out of Harvard and Stanford found health issues from job stress alone cause more deaths than diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or influenza.
In this age of constant bombardment, the science is clear: if you want your mind and body to last, you’ve got to prioritize giving them a rest. Music is an easy way to take some of the pressure off of all the pings, dings, apps, tags, texts, emails, appointments, meetings, and deadlines that can easily spike your stress level and leave you feeling drained and anxious.
Of the top track, Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson said, “‘Weightless’ was so effective, many women became drowsy and I would advise against driving while listening to the song because it could be dangerous.” So don’t drive while listening to these, but do take advantage of them:
10. “We Can Fly,” by Rue du Soleil (Café Del Mar)
9. “Canzonetta Sull’aria,” by Mozart
8. “Someone Like You,” by Adele
7. “Pure Shores,” by All Saints
6. “Please Don’t Go,” by Barcelona
5. “Strawberry Swing,” by Coldplay
4. “Watermark,” by Enya
3. “Mellomaniac (Chill Out Mix),” by DJ Shah
2. “Electra,” by Airstream
1. “Weightless,” by Marconi Union
I made a public playlist of all of them on Spotify that runs about 50 minutes (it’s also downloadable).”
"A Catastrophic Debt Implosion Can Be Incredibly Quick"
"A Catastrophic Debt Implosion Can Be Incredibly Quick"
by Egon Von Greyerz
"Will the world experience a catastrophic debt implosion? Just like the Titan Submersible that recently imploded, the global debt bubble can implode “within just a fraction of a millisecond”. More later in the article. Are we now in the third circle in Dante’s Inferno?
Dante describes the 9 circles of hell. The 3rd circle is Gluttony which is fitting for a self indulgent Western world with excessive consumption of both material and financial resources. Each circle represents a gradual increase in evil, culminating at the center of the earth where Satan is held in bondage. The sinners of each circle are punished for eternity in a fashion fitting their crimes. Financial markets have also been dominated by gluttony for an extended period. This has led to the biggest asset bubble in history.
End Of The Current Western Empire: But here we are in the 21st century with the current Western Empire in the final stages of a secular decline which looks very similar to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Wars, debts, deficits, collapsing currencies, decadence, corruption and socialism – Plus ça change (the more things change, the more they stay the same). Whether this cycle is the end of a 100, 300 or 2000 year era, only future historians will know the answer to.
War Drums And NATO: To diffuse the real reasons for the collapse of the Western economy and the Financial System, there is nothing like starting a war. Leaders love to play real war games although most of them have never been near the front line. A war creates fear in the people and permits the leaders to govern the country irresponsibly, both in relation to the economy and by controlling the people.
So all the Western leaders got together for the NATO meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania last week to listen to Zelensky’s rantings about more money and more weapons in a war that Ukraine is unlikely to ever win. But since this is a proxy war for the real battle between the US and Russia, the West is grudgingly giving in to many of Zelensky’s demands, thus escalating the war to levels which could have catastrophic consequences for the world.
This war could at best lead to 100s of thousands of additional deaths. The Ukrainian people don’t want war, probably more than 10 million of them have left the country and won’t return. Neither the Russian, American or European people want war, only their leaders. When it comes to wars, leaders have ultimate power and also access to money. Although no country has funds available for this war, they all borrow and print to the detriment of the countries and their people. At best this war will be limited but go on for years at a massive cost of lives and resources. At worst we could have a global and nuclear war with disastrous repercussions.
Western leaders would serve their people much better if they instead sent peace makers and focused on their economies which are on the verge of a major implosion. Coming back to debt, this is what will finally destroy the West and likely lead to decades of misery.
US Debt Up By Same Amount In Last 5 Years As The First 221 Years: The latest financial crisis started in September 2019 when the US banking system came under serious pressure and the Fed injected major liquidity into the near bankrupt system. Since that time, total US debt has increased by $21 trillion. Let’s put this into perspective. It took the US 221 years to go from Zero debt in 1776 to $21 trillion in 1997 and just in the last 4 years, debt has gone up by that same $21 trillion.
Now some will argue that it is not the same money today as 200 years ago. No of course it is not the same money. Because every government destroys the value of their currency by creating unlimited amounts out of thin air to the detriment of savers and pensioners. The graph below shows the debt explosion during my working life so far. Up from $1.5 trillion in 1969 to $95T today – a totally mind boggling 63x increase.
But total US debt of $ 95 trillion is only part of the total liabilities. Add to that unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare of say $150 trillion. Then there are gross derivatives within the banking system and in the shadow banking system of probably $2-2.5 quadrillion. This is a form of credit that can easily blow up when counterparties fail.
A Coming Inferno: Coming back to Dante’s Inferno, the 9 circles of hell are: 1. Limbo – where there is no god, 2. Lust, 3. Gluttony, 4. Greed, 5. Wrath, 6. Heresy, 7. Violence, 8. Fraud, and 9.Treachery. Many of the 9 sins in Dante’s Inferno apply to today’s world but maybe Gluttony is one of the more fitting to a self indulgent Western world.
Cerberus, the three-headed beast of hell, guards the gluttons mauling and flaying them for eternity. (Sounds pretty horrible. A more modern version might be the song “Hotel California” by the Eagles – “You can check out any time but you can never leave”.) Also Homer wrote about Cerberus.
What we do know is that in this final phase that probably started in 1913 with the foundation of the Fed and accelerated from 1971 when Nixon closed the gold window we have seen the required excesses or gluttony that inevitably lead to a severe punishment. We have seen historical bubbles in all asset markets whether in Stocks, Bonds, Property and many others. We have also seen debt explode, especially since 1971. As always in the final stages of an empire, real growth first slows down and then stops.
The World Has Reached Peak Cheap Energy: The primary driver of economic growth since the second half of the 1700s has been the discovery and use of energy on an industrial scale, starting with the industrial revolution. The growth of the economy is not driven by money but by energy. As Tim Morgan of Surplus Energy Economics states: “The economy is a surplus energy equation, not a monetary one, and growth in output (and in the global population) since the Industrial Revolution has resulted from the harnessing of ever-greater quantities of energy. But the critical relationship between energy production and the energy cost of extraction is now deteriorating so rapidly that the economy as we have known it for more than two centuries is beginning to unravel.”
The dilemma is that the Energy Cost of Energy is constantly increasing. In 1990 that cost was 2.6% of fossil fuels and is estimated to be 12% in 2025. According to Dr Morgan, with the current Energy Cost of Energy, the real economy as well as prosperity has started to decline and that trend will continue for several decades. Fossil fuels still represent 83% of all energy globally and renewable energy is unlikely to make any significant difference in the next few decades.
So we are now looking at peak cheap energy at a time when asset markets are in bubble territory with debts and deficits at levels which can only result in an implosion. Again let me emphasize that cheap energy is a prerequisite for economic growth.
Panicking Governments Take Irrational Measures: So, what are governments doing about this? They are clearly aware of the risks and this is why they invent all kinds of events that will enable them to control the people. This includes Covid lockdowns, forced vaccinations, climate control, CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies), wars and unlimited rules, regulations and laws. The US for example now has over 300,000 laws controlling all aspects of daily life and making everyone a likely daily felon.
Revaluation Of Gold: I have already in previous articles discussed the seismic shift that will take place from West to East and South based on commodities and manufacturing rather than debt and services. That will be a long process which is just starting: “A DISORDERLY RESET WITH GOLD REVALUED BY MULTIPLES” Whilst a lot of gold investors are excited about the prospect of a BRICS currency backed by gold, personally I think that is far away. The Tweet by an official at the Russian embassy in Kenya is not quite enough to confirm this. As I have already written about here , I believe that gold will be the asset of choice for central banks to hold as reserves rather than dollars. Such a move would have a major impact on gold which I wrote about here: “MAJOR REVALUATION OF GOLD AND PRECIOUS METALS IS IMMINENT”.
So with risks facing the Western world of a magnitude never seen before in history, including geopolitical, financial, economic, the biggest asset and debt bubble in history is coming to an end. It is clearly impossible to predict how this will play out. It is not even worth speculating. What we do know is that risk is now at a level which makes investment markets extremely dangerous. In the next few years major fortunes will be lost permanently.
Asset & Debt Explosion – Implosion: Let’s first look at the spectacle we have witnessed in the last 54 years. This is a selfish time period and reflects when in 1969 my working life started in banking in Geneva.
This period conveniently coincides with Nixon closing the gold window in 1971. That was the end of sound money and the beginning of a free-for-all bonanza in money printing. So during my working life since 1969 US total debt has gone up 63X from $1.5 trillion to $95T. Bubbles always burst, without exception. But we know of course that bubbles can always grow bigger before they burst.
What few people realize is that when a debt bubble explodes or more likely implodes, it could go almost as quickly as the recent implosion of the Titan Submersible. The pressure on this vessel was remarkable: A catastrophic implosion is “incredibly quick,” taking place within just a fraction of a millisecond, said Aileen Maria Marty, a former Naval officer and professor at Florida International University. “The entire thing would have collapsed before the individuals inside would even realize that there was a problem,” she told CNN. “Ultimately, among the many ways in which we can pass, that’s painless.”
I doubt that global debt and the world financial system will implode in a fraction of a millisecond but as I have warned many times, an implosion of the $3 quadrillion of debt and derivatives could happen very, very quickly. It would unroll at such a speed that no central bank would have time to react. And as I have also pointed out, when the debt implodes, so will all the assets which were inflated by the debt.
So even if it doesn’t happen in milliseconds, it will be too quick to save. We saw this in the middle of March when 4 banks, led by Silicon Valley Bank, collapsed in a matter of a couple of days. And shortly thereafter Credit Suisse imploded too.
A World At Crossroads: What is very clear to me is that the Western world is now at a crossroads. As Brutus said in his speech, the right turn “leads on to fortune” whilst with the wrong turn you end up “in shallows and miseries.”
For anyone who realizes the severity of the situation, the choices should be obvious, if not we will “lose our ventures”. Facing such a momentous risk, protecting our families must be the only option."
o
Hat tip to ZeroHedge for this material.
"Massive Sales At Kroger! Stock Up Now! Don't Miss This!"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 7/20/23
"Massive Sales At Kroger!
Stock Up Now! Don't Miss This!"
"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and finding many items that are worth stocking up on for long and short-term storage! Make sure you take advantage of some of these sales while they're available!"
Comments here:
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
"American Caligula" (Excerpt)
"American Caligula"
by GrungeVet aka Scipio Eruditus
“Every single morning since I’ve been 27 years old, I’ve got up and someone’s handed me a card like the one I have in my pocket with the schedule on it, of all the things I’m gonna do. I don’t know what to do if I didn’t have that card.”
- President Joseph Robinette Biden
Excerpt: "The name Caligula has become synonymous with sexual depravity and violence, a ruler famed for savage acts of barbarity and carnality. I contest that we have a modern reincarnation of Caligula on America’s shores; personified in a quite public fashion by our alleged President, Joe Biden. Like the Caesars of old, this demented pervert can not contain his foul sexual urges, molesting terrified children on a nearly weekly basis. YouTube montages of this man’s public behavior are appropriately age restricted due to the graphic nature of his pawing. We have watched this man, and many others within the political realm, fall prey to the basest of human desires: pedophilia. Blackmail of this sort has been used by generations of fixer’s — such as Jeffrey Epstein and Roy Cohn - to bend politicians to their master’s will. It has become painfully self-evident that the nations of the once Christian West are ruled by a corrupt and depraved intergenerational criminal cartel; a cartel who holds their pawns in spiritual slavery through sexual bondage of the most horrific nature.
Our taskmasters are not an aberration in this regard, for this monstrous sexual predilection is extraordinarily common amongst the ruling “elite” throughout history. The tales of the Julio-Claudian Caesars of Rome serve as a fitting frame of reference to compare our current ruling class to, for the old pagan ways have returned to the once Christian West in force. The degenerate sexual escapades of the Julio-Claudian dynasty included parental incest, sibling incest, mass public orgies, sodomy, bestiality, cross-dressing, and pedophilia. The Roman historian Suetonius best chronicles the reprobate reign of Caligula (emphasis mine):
"It was his habit to commit incest with each of his three sisters and, at large banquets, when his wife reclined above him, placed them all in turn below him. They say that he ravished his sister Drusilla before he came [of] age: their grandmother Antonia, at whose house they were both staying, caught them in bed together…
He showed no such extreme love or respect for the two surviving sisters, and often, indeed, let his boy friends sleep with them; and at Aemilius Lepidus’ trial, felt no compunction about denouncing them as adulteresses who were party to plots against him – openly producing letters in their handwriting (acquired by trickery and seduction) and dedicating to Mars the Avenger the three swords with which, the accompanying placard alleged, they had meant to kill him." - "Life of Gaius"
One of Caligula’s surviving sisters - Agrippina the Younger - would later go on to birth the future Emperor Nero, with whom she would continue the Julio-Claudian tradition of intergenerational incest.
Rape, sibling incest, and pimping out his sisters were just a small portion of Caligula’s sins. While the Emperor Elagabalus is often referred to as the “first” transgender emperor by leftist historians, it was in my opinion Caligula. Let us once again turn to Suetonius and his Life of the Caesars, which describes the personal habits of Emperor Caligula:
"Gaius [Caligula] paid no attention to traditional or current fashions in his dress; ignoring male conventions and even the human decencies. Often he made public appearances in a cloak covered with embroidery and encrusted with precious stones, a long-sleeved tunic and bracelets; or in silk (which men were forbidden by law to wear) or even in a woman’s robe; and came shod sometimes with slippers, sometimes with buskins, sometimes with military boots, sometimes with women’s shoes. Often he affected a golden beard and carried a thunderbolt, trident, or serpent-twined staff in his hand. He even dressed up as Venus…"
- "Life of Gaius"
Caligula’s profligate homosexual appetites were only matched by his extravagant financial expenditures. With the treasury dwindling, plots against the Emperor grew. The final straw was his announcement that he planned to leave Rome in order to permanently reside in Alexandria, where he would be worshipped as a living god. His short-lived reign ended when the Praetorian Guard stabbed Caligula to death with his wife and daughter. The Roman historian Cassius Dio famously quipped that Caligula “learned by actual experience that he was not a god”. In Caligula we see shades of our own rulers, for the American ruling regime has become inhabited by the same pagan sprits ruling the nations of yore."
Full horrifying article is here:
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Hat tip to the Burning Platform for this material.
"Economic Collapse: ‘All Banks To Fail’, Fed’s Powell To Resign"
Peter Schiff & David Hay, 7/19/23
"Economic Collapse: ‘All Banks To Fail’, Fed’s Powell To Resign"
Comments here:
"Warning: US Banks Stop Lending, Consumers On Borrowed Time; Americans Can't Get A Loan As Rejections Soar"
Jeremiah Babe, 7/19.23
"Warning: US Banks Stop Lending, Consumers On
Borrowed Time; Americans Can't Get A Loan As Rejections Soar"
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"Alert! Oil Supply Is On The Brink Of Collapse As Saudi Arabia Slashes Production"
Full screen recommended.
"Alert! Oil Supply Is On The Brink Of Collapse As Saudi Arabia Slashes Production"
by Epic Economist
"The oil market has taken yet another hit this month as Saudi Arabia deepened oil production cuts to gain further control of prices at a time U.S. officials are failing to boost the domestic Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and supplies are rapidly dwindling. The shock caused by lower global oil output is threatening to undermine U.S. energy stability and send prices at the pump soaring over the next few weeks and months. With the relationship between America and OPEC nations deteriorating, our geopolitical leverage is weakening, and the Saudis are seeing this situation as a perfect opportunity to strengthen their dominance in the global scenario.
Saudi Arabia and a handful of OPEC+ nations have been announcing significant cuts in their oil production this year. The Saudis and Russia, the world's biggest oil exporters, deepened oil cuts earlier this month, sending prices higher for a third time this year. Saudi Arabia said it would extend its voluntary oil output cut while Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow would cut its oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August. Similarly, Algeria said it would cut oil output by an extra 20,000 barrels from Aug. 1-31. The coming cut will be on top of a 48,000 barrel reduction decided in April, it said. The move was swiftly followed by Libyan Oil Minister Mohamed Oun. In all, the coalition, which pumps around 40% of the world's crude oil, already has in place cuts of 3.66 million barrels per day, amounting to 3.6% of global demand.
OPEC leaders continue to point to an uncertain demand outlook as the catalyst for their decision. Moreover, many officials in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, were reportedly frustrated that U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently said that it would be “difficult” for the United States to refill its Strategic Petroleum Reserve this year. In January, the administration said it would boost its domestic reserves when oil dropped below around $70 a barrel, as it did for a brief period after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. However, that opportunity was missed, and now U.S. supplies are rapidly shrinking.
The combination of a recession, the crisis in the banking sector and the reopening of the Chinese economy is making most analysts project a significant decline in global oil supply this year and next, after many decades of underinvestment to build new capacity. The latest production cut means that a tighter market and higher oil prices will arrive sooner than previously expected. That may be a disastrous scenario for America, but for the Saudis, spiking oil prices could more than compensate for lower sales, boosting OPEC revenues.
The price of oil on global markets is a major driver of gasoline prices in America, so as the price of oil goes up, gasoline prices will follow, and we should start bracing for a repeat of what happened last year when oil prices surged, sending the national average price for gasoline to a record of as much as $5 per gallon. This summer, prices remained at the $3.50 average per gallon, bringing some relief to Americans after several months of rising inflation. But these lower costs didn’t come as a result of higher inventories. Instead, they were caused by political decisions amid the growing disapproval of the administration in recent polls.
Our national reserves have been depleted, and higher oil prices will make it even harder for us to rebuild domestic inventories. While other economic superpowers have become more independent, now more than ever, the U.S. is relying on other nations for resources, and that will come at a very expensive price for all of us."
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Musical Interlude: Kevin Kern, "Another Realm"
Full screen recommended.
Kevin Kern, "Another Realm"
Beautiful...
"A Look to the Heavens"
"Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years away, toward the constellation Leo. Relatively bright in planet Earth's sky, NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like M66 and M65. It's hard to overlook in this colorful cosmic portrait, though. Spanning some 50,000 light-years the galaxy sports characteristic patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust, pink star forming regions, and clusters of young, blue stars.
Remarkably, this deep image also finds NGC 3521 embedded in gigantic bubble-like shells. The shells are likely tidal debris, streams of stars torn from satellite galaxies that have undergone mergers with NGC 3521 in the distant past."
"Humanity, I Love You..."
"Humanity, I love you because when you're down
and out you pawn your intelligence for a drink."
- e.e. cummings
"Noli Timere: The Important Thing Is to Not Be Afraid”
"Noli Timere:
The Important Thing Is to Not Be Afraid”
by Ryan Holiday
"While Seamus Heaney, the world-famous Irish poet and Nobel Prize Winner, was being rushed to the operating room he sent a single text message to his wife with just two words: "Noli Timere ." This Latin phrase when translated to English means "Be not afraid. " Heaney passed away not long after.
“There was no virtue more important to the Stoics than courage, particularly in times of stress or crisis. In scary times, it’s easy to be scared. Events can escalate at any moment. There is uncertainty. You could lose your job. Then your house and your car. Something could even happen with your kids. Of course we’re going to feel something when things are shaky like that. How could we not?
Even the Stoics, who were supposedly masters of their emotions, admitted that we are going to have natural reactions to the things that are out of our control. You’re going to feel cold if someone dumps a bucket of water on you. Your heart is going to race if something jumps out from behind a corner. These are things the Stoics openly discussed.
They had a word for these immediate, pre-cognitive impressions of things: phantasiai. No amount of training or wisdom, Seneca said, can prevent us from having these reactions. What mattered to them, and what is urgently needed today in a world of unlimited breaking news about pandemics or collapsing stock markets or military conflicts, was what you did after that reaction. What mattered is what came next.
There is a wonderful quote from Faulkner about this very idea. “Be scared,” he wrote. “You can’t help that. But don’t be afraid.” A scare is a temporary rush of a feeling. Being afraid is an ongoing process. Fear is a state of being. The alertness that comes from being startled might even help you. It wakes you up. It puts your body in motion. It’s what saves prey from the tiger or the tiger from the hunter. But fear and worry and anxiety? Being afraid? That’s not fight or flight. That’s paralysis. That only makes things worse.
Especially right now. Especially in a world that requires solutions to the many problems we face. They’re certainly not going to solve themselves. And inaction (or the wrong action) may make them worse, it might put you in even more danger. An inability to learn, adapt, to embrace change will too.
There is a Hebrew prayer which dates back to the early 1800s: כל העולם כולו גשר צר מאוד והעיקר לא לפחד כלל. “The world is a narrow bridge, and the important thing is not to be afraid.” The wisdom of that expression has sustained the Jewish people through incredible adversity and terrible tragedies. It was even turned into a popular song that was broadcast to troops and citizens alike during the Yom Kippur War. It’s a reminder: Yes, things are dicey, and it’s easy to be scared if you look down instead of forward. Fear will not help.
What does help? Training. Courage. Discipline. Commitment. Calm. But mainly, that courage thing – which the Stoics held up as the most essential virtue. One of my favorite explanations of this idea comes from the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. “It’s not like astronauts are braver than other people,” he says. “We’re just, you know, meticulously prepared…” Think about someone like John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, whose heart rate never went above a 100 beats per minute the entire mission. That’s what preparation does for you.
Astronauts face all sorts of difficult, high stakes situations in space – where the margin for error is tiny. In fact, on Chris’ first spacewalk his left eye went blind. Then his other eye teared up and went blind too. In complete darkness, he had to find his way back if he wanted to survive. He would later say that the key in such situations is to remind oneself that “there are six things that I could do right now, all of which will help make things better. And it’s worth remembering, too, there’s no problem so bad that you can’t make it worse also.” That’s the difference between scared and afraid. One prevents you from making things better, it may make them worse.
After the stock market crash in October 1929, America faced a horrendous economic crisis that lasted ten years. Banks failed. Investors were wiped out. Unemployment was some 20 percent. Herbert Hoover, who’d only been in office barely six months when the market collapsed, tried and failed repeatedly for the next 3.5 years to stem the tide. FDR, who succeeded him, would have never denied that things were dangerous and that this was scary. Of course it was. He was scared. How could he not be? Yet what he counseled the people in his now-legendary first inaugural address in 1933 was that fear was a choice, it was the real enemy to be fought. Because it would only make the situation worse. It would destroy the remaining banks. It would turn people against each other. It would prevent the implementation of cooperative solutions.
And today, whether the biggest problem you face is the coronavirus pandemic or the similarly dire economic implications – or maybe it’s both those things plus a faltering marriage or a cancer diagnosis or a lawsuit – you have to know what the real plague to avoid is.
This life we’re living – this world we inhabit – is a scary place. If you peer over the side of a narrow bridge, you can lose the heart to continue. You freeze up. You sit down. You don’t make good decisions. You don’t see or think clearly.
The important thing is that we are not afraid. That we don’t overthink things. That we don’t get distracted with the worst-case scenario on top of the worst-case scenario on top of the collision of two other worst-case scenarios. Because that doesn’t help us with what’s right in front of us right now. It doesn’t help us put one foot in front of the other, whether it’s on a spacewalk or a tough business call. It doesn’t help us slow our heart rate down whether we’re re-entering the earth’s atmosphere or watching a plummeting stock portfolio. It doesn’t help us remember that we’ve trained for this, that there is a playbook for how to proceed.
Remember, Marcus Aurelius himself faced a deadly, dangerous pandemic. His people were panicked. His doctors were baffled. His staff and his advisors were conflicted. His economy plunged. The plague spanned fifteen years of his reign with a mortality rate of between 2-3%. Marcus would have been scared – how could he not have been? But he didn’t let that rattle him. He didn’t freeze. He didn’t relinquish his ability to lead. He got to work.
“Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole,” he wrote to himself, as it was happening. “Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand, and ask, ‘Why is this so unbearable? Why can’t I endure it?’ You’ll be embarrassed to answer.” The crisis could have crippled him. But instead he stood up. He not only endured it, but he was a hero. He saved lives. He prevented panic from turning the battle into a rout.
Which is what we must do today and always, whatever we’re facing. We can’t give into fear. We have to repeat to ourselves over and over again: It’s OK to be scared, just don’t be afraid. We repeat: The world is a narrow bridge and I will not be afraid.
We have to focus on the six things, as Chris Hadfield might say, that we can do to make it better. And we can’t forget that there are plenty of things we can do to make things worse. Foremost among them, giving into fear and making mistakes. Rather, we have to keep going. Now is the time for everyone to show courage, like the thousands of generations who have come before us. Because time marches in only one direction – forward.”
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