"Domino's CEO Warns Large Number Of Stores Will Disappear As Fast Food Bankruptcies Continue To Rise"

Full screen recommended.

"Domino's CEO Warns Large Number Of Stores Will 

Disappear As Fast Food Bankruptcies Continue To Rise"

by Epic Economist

"Domino’s store closings are soaring in 2023. The biggest pizza chain in the entire globe has admitted that it raised prices way too fast, and now it is facing the consequences of this decision as sales continue to fall in most of its locations in the U.S. and the world. The company is facing a perfect storm as financial losses hit the highest level since 2011. That has led corporate executives to warn that nearly 20% of the chain’s underperforming restaurants will likely disappear before the end of the year. The announcement comes as a new Bloomberg report shows that bankruptcies in the restaurant sector are rapidly rising amid worsening macroeconomic factors. The outlook is getting gloomier for the entire industry, and experts say one single disruption in the system could push Domino’s and other major chains over the edge in the next few months.

During its latest earnings call, the chain’s U.S. CEO Russell Weiner revealed that the company’s sales dropped by roughly 8.3% in the first quarter, after falling 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company's same-store delivery sales fell for the third consecutive quarter in Q2. The decline in delivery may stem from consumers hitting their breaking point on inflation, as delivery fees stack on top of product price hikes.

“As we saw in the last recession, delivery moves with the economy, especially for customers with lower disposable income, who represent a significant portion of our business,” Weiner highlighted. Predicting more financial volatility ahead, global corporate executives are now conducting mass store closings to save on costs. In the U.S., the number of store shutdowns can hit up to 250 in the second half of the year, according to a source familiar with the matter who talked on condition of anonymity with Insider.

At least another 150 locations are set to close in Australia, Japan, France, and Germany. This year, the company also shuttered all of its locations in Denmark and Italy due to years of underperformance, the source said. Executives announced that several unprofitable stores would be gone by the end of the year. “Domino’s will reduce the size of its current corporate store network by 15 to 20 percent, through closing underperforming stores and accelerating the refranchising of corporate stores in a major ‘turnaround’,” the company said in a statement.

Not only Domino’s but many other big fast-food franchises are likely to default on their debt as the recession accelerates. That could spur more of them to file bankruptcy in the coming months, analysts warned. Although Domino's large number of franchisees can be a major advantage during times of economic prosperity, it can also be a major liability during economic downturns due to the increased exposure to debt, and limited access to credit. If operators continue to be squeezed by higher operational costs and falling sales, many of them may become insolvent, and the company may suddenly find itself drowning in debt and stuck with zombie stores. That's what happening with Burger King right now. After three franchisees filed for bankruptcy this year, the burger chain is closing 400 locations and trying to renegotiate its debt in an attempt to stay afloat and restore profitability. This situation shows that it doesn't matter how big a company is, a series of small failures can make it rot from within. Considering the size and scope of Domino's troubles, we're not that far from seeing a similar outcome."

Comments here:

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Musical Interlude: Chuck Wild, "Liquid Mind, Dream Ten”

Full screen recommended.

Chuck Wild, "Liquid Mind, Dream Ten”

"Liquid Mind" (aka Chuck Wild) originally wrote this music to deal with the anxiety and stress of overwork and the serious illness of friends. The gentle ebb and flow of the music has an immediate "slowing down" effect, providing a serene escape from tension-filled days. Ideal for stress relief, falling asleep at night and to enhance meditative and therapeutic practices. There are few composers with as much love for slowness in their music as Wild. Chuck draws from classical and pop influences as varying as Beethoven and Brian Eno, Bartok and Rachmaninoff, Bach, Chopin and Fauré, Duruflé and Brahms."

- http://www.liquidmindmusic.co

"A Look to the Heavens"

“The constellation of Orion holds much more than three stars in a row. A deep exposure shows everything from dark nebula to star clusters, all embedded in an extended patch of gaseous wisps in the greater Orion Molecular Cloud Complex. The brightest three stars on the far left are indeed the famous three stars that make up the belt of Orion. Just below Alnitak, the lowest of the three belt stars, is the Flame Nebula, glowing with excited hydrogen gas and immersed in filaments of dark brown dust.

Below the frame center and just to the right of Alnitak lies the Horsehead Nebula, a dark indentation of dense dust that has perhaps the most recognized nebular shapes on the sky. On the upper right lies M42, the Orion Nebula, an energetic caldron of tumultuous gas, visible to the unaided eye, that is giving birth to a new open cluster of stars. Immediately to the left of M42 is a prominent bluish reflection nebula sometimes called the Running Man that houses many bright blue stars. The above image, a digitally stitched composite taken over several nights, covers an area with objects that are roughly 1,500 light years away and spans about 75 light years.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120212.html

The Poet: Theodore Roethke, “The Return”

“The Return”

“Suddenly the window will open

and Mother will call,

it's time to come in.

The wall will part,

I will enter heaven in muddy shoes.

I will come to the table

and answer questions rudely.

I am all right, leave me

alone. Head in hand I

sit and sit. How can I tell them

about that long

and tangled way?

Here in heaven mothers

knit green scarves;

flies buzz.

Father dozes by the stove

after six days' labor.

No - surely I can't tell them

that people are at each

other's throats.”

- Theodore Roethke

Paulo Coelho, "The Water Pitcher"

"The Water Pitcher"

by Paulo Coelho

"A legend tells of a man who used to carry water every day to his village, using two large pitchers tied on either end of a piece of wood, which he placed across his shoulders. One of the pitchers was older than the other and was full of small cracks; every time the man came back along the path to his house, half of the water was lost. For two years, the man made the same journey. The younger pitcher was always very proud of the way it did its work and was sure that it was up to the task for which it had been created, while the other pitcher was mortally ashamed that it could carry out only half its task, even though it knew that the cracks were the result of long years of work.

So ashamed was the old pitcher that, one day, while the man was preparing to fill it up with water from the well, it decided to speak to him. "I wish to apologize because, due to my age, you only manage to take home half the water you fill me with, and thus quench only half the thirst awaiting you in your house."

The man smiled and said: "When we go back, be sure to take a careful look at the path." The pitcher did as the man asked and noticed many flowers and plants growing along one side of the path. "Do you see how much more beautiful nature is on your side of the road?" the man remarked. "I knew you had cracks, but I decided to take advantage of them. I sowed vegetables and flowers there, and you always watered them. I've picked dozens of roses to decorate my house, and my children have had lettuce, cabbage and onions to eat. If you were not the way you are, I could never have done this. We all, at some point, grow old and acquire other qualities, and these can always be turned to good advantage."

- http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

The Universe

"Friends are friends because they've discovered how much they have in common. Opponents, adversaries, and foes are friends too, who have not yet discovered this. It's as if a band of amazing angels got together, before time even began, to celebrate their common heritage, sense of adventure, creativity and savoir faire, and decided to meet in the distant future, amongst the jungles of time and space, upon a distant little blue planet, to see how long it would take for each and every one of them to discover who they really are. 8 billion angels, to be precise."

"Your friend,"

The Universe

"Thoughts become things... choose the good ones!"

- www.tut.com

The Daily "Near You?"

Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. Thanks for stopping by!

"US Playing With Fire - Putin Issues Dire Warning"

Full screen recommended.

"Putin Mocks 'Inferior' Western Weapons; 

Deems Ukraine's Counteroffensive 'Futile'"

"Russian President Putin has scorned Ukraine's counteroffensive, claiming it to be futile. Despite the Kyiv regime receiving extensive resources and Western aid, the efforts to reclaim territories have yielded no results. Putin emphasized that "colossal" resources and supplies of Western weapons, including tanks, artillery, armored vehicles, and missiles, have not aided Ukraine's cause."

Comments here:

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o

"Ukraine Begins Firing US Cluster Bombs At Russian 

Troops, Kirby Touts 'Quite Effective' Use"

o

Aren't you proud, Good Citizen, as you virtue-signal waving your cutesy little Ukrainian flags? After all, look at what the $150 billion you and I and all of us bought. 350,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers, 30,000 dead Russians, and the very real possibility of a world-ending nuclear war. You bought it, you own it. Be real proud...

"The Future"

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

- Blaise Pascal

"I Visit All Moscow Metro!"

Full screen recommended.

Alex Inside, 7/21/23

"I Visit All Moscow Metro!", Part 1

"Who says Moscow, says Metro, and it would have been a shame to leave the Russian capital without mentioning its underground world. The Moscow Metro is one of the largest and most beautiful metros in the world. Each station is unique and bears witness to its own history."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Full screen recommended.

Alex Inside, 7/21/23

"I Visit All Moscow Metro, A Feast for the Eyes!, Part 2

"After watching this video, the Moscow metro will hold no secrets for you! At least, after two whole days in the metro, I can say it: I visited the entire Moscow metro, and it was worth it! As in Episode 1, there were some wonderful discoveries to be made (especially on the new BKL line). And you, which station impressed you the most?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

OMG, I am utterly, absolutely astonished, speechless...

"RFK, Jr. Goes to Washington"

"RFK, Jr. Goes to Washington"

...and into the donkey's den

by Bill Bonner

"Oh, Jake," Brett said, "we could have had such a damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett against me. "Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?"

- Ernest Hemingway, "The Sun Also Rises"

Poitou, France - "Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. testified before a Congressional committee yesterday. The committee was supposed to be looking at censorship. Then, House Democrats wanted to censure Kennedy by disinviting him. They claimed that there are some views that shouldn’t be heard at all. They are “beyond the pale,” they said. “The Pale” refers to the area around Dublin still under English control in the 14th century. Beyond it were the ‘wild Irish.’ Kennedy’s family came from New Ross, Ireland, which was beyond the pale. As we will see, Kennedy is ‘off the reservation’ in more ways than one…and poses a threat, not just to Democrats, but to Republicans too.

Into the Donkey’s Den: USA Today: 'Idiotic, bigoted messaging': Dems grill RFK Jr. during House hearing on censorship. House Democrats slammed Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a hearing on Thursday over his comments promoting a false claim that suggested COVID-19 was "ethnically targeted" to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. "Distortion of the truth has consequences," Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said. "It's not censorship to try to correct that record."

It is hardly worth mentioning that Kennedy is neither a Ku-Kluxer, nor a neo-nazi, nor a homophobe. He’s not even a real anti-vaxxer. Each time you read a headline, you feel entitled to dismiss him as just another fringe politician with kooky views. But each time, when you look at what he actually says, you get a different story. On the issue of vaccinations, for example, the candidate has been vaccinated. He says all his children were vaccinated too. But that doesn’t stop him from wondering if vaccines are really as safe and effective as their manufacturers claim.

Kennedy wonders about a lot of things. About whether Sirhan Sirhan really killed his father, for example…and about whether it was just a coincidence that his uncle was assassinated right after he had vowed to smash the CIA “into a thousand pieces.” (Charles de Gaulle came back to Paris from the funeral and reported privately that the CIA had killed him.) RFK, Jr. has even begun to wonder about how to solve the problem of inflation…he’s proposing to tie the dollar to bitcoin!

“Baseless… bizarre… unproven…” But the Establishment doesn’t like wondering. It claims to have The Truth…and nothing but the truth…final and definitive – on everything from the Kennedy assassination to the efficacy of lockdowns and face masks…to the causes and cures of heat waves and cold snaps. So, the politicians and the press label him a bad guy in the headlines…and hope that he will go away.

What we are looking at here is a rare and instructive example of politics…and megapolitics… playing out on the same stage. At the superficial, political level, the plot is simple…and the characters act their assigned roles with their customary lack of grace or charm. So it was that Senator Wasserman Shultz characterized Kennedy’s wondering about the Covid -19 vaccine as “baseless conspiracy theory….bizarre, unproven…” and so on. Rep. Connolly suggested it was ‘hate speech.’

Democrats want to win the next presidential election so they can enjoy four more years of payoffs to their favorite lobbyists and pet projects. But their champion, Joe Biden, is a very flawed hero. He is an aging hack who seems unable to wonder about anything. Even most Democrats don’t like him. But the upcoming race for the White House may be a close call. And the last thing the Democrats want is for someone to cut into Biden’s votes. According to the polls, 16% of Democrats favor Kennedy. If they actually vote for RFK, Jr., they will tip the election towards the Republican challenger, who will likely be Donald J. Trump.

That is why House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the Kennedy campaign a “living, breathing false-flag operation…run by right-wing political operatives who have one objective: try to take down President Joe Biden.”

Over the past few weeks, the media – most of it controlled by Democrats…with reporters and columnists who overwhelmingly identify as left-of-center – has tried to knock Kennedy out of the running. Labeling him an anti-semite, they believed, would eliminate Jewish support. Tagging him as a racist, should keep the blacks away. And the ‘conspiracy theorist’ brand should make him unacceptable to the middle class. Or so they hope.

This is just ‘politics.’ Tawdry, fraudulent and dumb. The rockheads of both parties, armed by their polling consultants, aided and abetted by their friends in the media, will fight it out. The surprise could be that Kennedy takes more votes from the Republican candidate than from the Democrat. We will see.

Contra Deep State: More interesting to us, is the battle beneath the surface…the war that will determine the real future of the USA…in the rich vein of megapolitics. Both political parties have betrayed the nation. The Republicans betrayed their principles. The Democrats betrayed their voters. Republicans used to be ‘conservatives,’ appalled by federal power grabs and unbalanced budgets. But their last president – Donald Trump – grabbed more power than any president ever had – confining people to their homes in a bogus ‘national emergency.’ And he also ran the most unbalanced budgets in America’s history, with a deficit well over 10% of GDP. For their part, the Democrats used to be the party that was open to wondering. It favored peace abroad and progress at home, counting on a strong base of working-class voters for its electoral support. Now, turning its back on the families it used to represent, it is dominated by war mongers, billionaires, and non-binary wokistas.

Today, neither party represents ‘The People.’ Both are instruments of the transcontinental elite. Regardless of their blather on the ‘culture issues,’ they both support the two things that will ruin America and its middle class – inflation and war.

Poor RFK, Jr. is not just running against Joe Biden, but against the Deep State…the military/industrial/spook/medical/university/media complex – the Establishment…and the grand viziers of both political parties. That’s where the fight really matters; it’s the battle between ‘The People’ and their corrupt elite. It’s the fight his uncle and his father took up more than half a century ago…and lost. Maybe RFK, Jr. will have better luck. Wouldn’t it be nice to think so?"

- https://bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com/

o

"'Once You Start Censoring, You're On Your Way To 

Dystopia And Totalitarianism', RFK Jr. Wrecks House Committee"

"How It Really Is"

 

Jason Aldean, "Try That In A Small Town"

Full screen recommended.

Jason Aldean, "Try That In A Small Town"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Interesting how countless rap songs encourage murder sprees, drug dealing, pimping, and countless other crimes, and they're celebrated by the media, but a video by a country singer about self defense and neighbors looking out for each other is banned."

I never permit profanity or racism on this blog,

 but watch this and tell me this is ok, I dare you...

IceWear Vezzo, "F**k Rap"

And this absolute filth and garbage is what they love...

"They Keep Taking From Us"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 7/21/23

"They Keep Taking From Us"

"The Surcharges need to end. People think the digital dollar will be free. It will cut away at your money bit by bit. Eventually, nothing will be left and there will be no monetary independence."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Food Shortage Update 2023! Here We Go! It's Happening!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 7/21/23

"Food Shortage Update 2023! Here We Go!

 It's Happening!"

"In today's vlog, we are going over some major food shortages that are coming in Fall of 2023 and into 2024. We explain how if these food items disappear, it will be absolutely devastating all around the world. We are facing more shortages than ever, and must prepare ourselves!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Greg Hunter, "Weekly News Wrap-Up 7/21/23"

"Weekly News Wrap-Up 7/21/23"

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com 

"This week was a rough week for the people supporting President Biden. IRS whistleblower testimony in Congress under oath made it abundantly clear President Biden and his family enriched themselves at the expense of America. In short, it looks like they took treasonous bribes, and this may be just scratching the surface. How many other people in the Washington, D.C. swamp got a cut of Biden booty? We don’t know, but the evidence presented this week shows the Bidens, including the President (aka “The Big Guy”), took money from foreign sources, including China. The Constitution clearly says a President can be impeached for taking a bribe.

While the Lying Legacy Media ignores evidence of real crime, they are reporting on the crimes being made up by the Biden Administration DOJ. The Deep State wants to jail President Trump so he cannot run in 2024 for another term in the White House. Will they use the J6 strategy that got convictions of 350 protesters at the capitol so far? It sure looks that way, and even President Trump is expecting charges soon, which is the ultimate election interference.

There is no doubt America is at war with Russia. We keep sending in arms and munitions, and there are no peace talks whatsoever. Now, a bridge linking Russia to Crimea has been blown up again, and the Russians responded by destroying a port in Ukraine that exports wheat. Higher food prices and shortages will be hitting the world soon. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar is under attack, and a new global currency is going to be released by the so-called BRICS countries. Is a new currency war coming to go along with the real war already underway? The short answer is yes, and this spells big trouble to the buck." There is much more in the 1-hour & 2-minute newscast.

- https://usawatchdog.com/

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he talks about 

these stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up for 7/21/23.

- https://rumble.com/

Jim Kunstler, "The Downfall of Blobism"

"The Downfall of Blobism"

by Jim Kunstler

“If it weren’t for double standards, 

the Democrats would have no standards at all.” 

- Jeff Childers of the Coffee and Covid blog

"You might not know it these lazy, hazy, muggy days of midsummer, but things are getting pretty wildly out-of-hand in our republic. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. blew up the Democratic Party yesterday in the House Subcommittee on Weaponization of Government hearing, acting like a normal human while being set upon by a flock of harpies desperately screeching “Russia, Russia, Russia,” as if that means anything anymore. He branded them as worse than the McCarthyites of the 1950s, rebuked their insane scurrilities supporting censorship, and left them in a state of exhausted disgrace.

It happens that he is running for the nomination of that very party knocking itself out to destroy him. To win that prize he would have to put a thousand top Democrats through some grueling act of repentance and contrition — and then you’ve got to ask yourself: who would even want to win the support of such vile creatures as Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Jerrold Nadler, and Adam Schiff, let alone be associated with them in the same club?

Elsewhere around the scene this week, we have the ever more degenerate antics of the FBI on view as whistleblowers pour out of the woodwork disclosing the rot behind Director Chris Wray and his boss AG Merrick Garland. This Deep State Blob of turpitude has been growing and festering with so many overlapping cover-ups that they’ve run out of rugs to sweep their crimes under. The massive moneygrubbing misdeeds of Hillary Clinton from Skolkovo and Uranium One beat a direct path through the Ukraine coup of 2014, to RussiaGate, to the Biden Family’s global influence-peddling operation and every mendacious act in-between including the FISA falsehoods, the J-6 entrapment caper, hundreds of malicious and deceitful prosecutions, the Covid-19 fraud, the censorship and medical tyranny, and God-knows how many ensuing deaths from a poisonous vaccine… and now, a brain-dead government trifling with nuclear war.

And whose brilliant idea was it, anyway, to install this disgusting and incompetent grifter, “Joe Biden,” as our head-of-state? They surely knew well before 2019 that his bag-man son was rooting out bribes in Ukraine, China, and elsewhere, at the same time he was consorting with whores and trafficked children while destroying his brain with crack and downing a fifth of vodka a day. And you’re telling me that the CIA and FBI did not know about any of this, even before October 2019 when Hunter’s laptop stuffed with graphic evidence fell into their hands? If they didn’t know any of this, then what’s the point of having an intel community?

My guess is that it was Barack Obama’s idea to stick “Joe Biden” in the White House in the vain effort to use this captive criminal to stave off any accounting for the aforesaid villainies that occurred during Mr. Obama’s two terms. The mission was originally Hillary Clinton’s — she had plenty at stake herself — but she botched the job in 2016 and allowed the Golden Golem of Greatness to slip into power. It is amazing to look back and see how the mighty Blob congealed after that election — like a giant rogue macrophage — to surround and eliminate Mr. Trump, who apparently did not know for many months what he was up against: the entire permanent bureaucracy. Obviously, the Blob only partly succeeded in deactivating Mr. Trump, who has worked sedulously since 2021 to marshal about half the country militantly against the Blob and Blobism, while he still suffers one rear-guard legal affront after another.

Trouble is, the Blob itself has become an immune disorder for the polity known as the USA, and now threatens to destroy everything the country stands for and all the stuff deployed on the landscape from sea to shining sea, if the hypersonic nukes fly. These are dangerous weeks ahead. The pedal’s on the metal… the rubber’s meeting the road, and we seem to be watching a Thelma and Louise type denouement writ large.

The Blob itself, with the Democratic Party at its nucleus, and evil organelles Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and their like floating in the endoplasmic reticulum, has gone insane trying to protect its Precious, liberalism’s sacred bowling trophy, Barack Obama, from scrutiny. To call Mr. Obama to account, of course, would be viewed as the ultimate act of American “racism,” a place too many will not go. So, he may evade responsibility until he (and the rest of us) are gone and history catches up with him.

But is there any doubt now that “Joe Biden” must go, and as soon as possible? Surely there is enough evidence to mount an impeachment in the House, and rev it up as expeditiously as the Democrats revved up their two Trump impeachments. An impeachment would, of course, force a trial in the Senate. It is probably the one news event that The New York Times, The Washington Post, and CNN can’t run and hide from — as they have been hiding from this week’s whistleblower hearings and Mr. Kennedy’s sturdy performance against the House censorship activists. In a Senate trial, the rot will finally be laid out before the people to judge, whether the Senate can bring itself to convict “JB” or not. Anyway, it will end this president’s pretense of running for reelection, and on the off-chance he’s convicted, his pardon powers do not extend to that particular extraordinary Senate proceeding. And then we can see about Ms. Harris."

- https://kunstler.com/

o

"The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door. That's the only difference." - Ralph Nader

Musical Interlude: Mecano, "Hijo de la Luna"

Mecano, "Hijo de la Luna"

"A Debt Slave Nightmare Is Coming; Low Credit Score Means No Lifeline; The Party Is Ending"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/20/23

"A Debt Slave Nightmare Is Coming; Low Credit 

Score Means No Lifeline; The Party Is Ending"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Straight Calls 7/20/23"

Colonel Douglas Macgregor, Straight Calls 7/20/23

"A Massive Russian Force On The Ground Now"

"Analysis of breaking news and in-depth discussion of current 

geopolitical events in the United States of America and the world."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Scott Ritter, 7/20/23

"Russia's Unconventional Tactics"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Scott Ritter, 7/20/23

"Russia has Expanded its Military From 900,000 to 1.5 Million"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"One Major Shortage No One Is Talking About! This Could Get Ugly!"

Adventures With Danno, PM 7/20/23

"One Major Shortage No One Is Talking About! 

This Could Get Ugly!"

"We discuss one grocery shortage no one is talking about and how it may affect everyone! With wheat and grain shortages, this will surely be an issue in the future."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Disney Goes Empty As Americans Can't Afford Explosive Prices"

Full screen recommended.

"Disney Goes Empty As 

Americans Can't Afford Explosive Prices"

by Epic Economist

"The most iconic theme park in the U.S. and the world is facing an unprecedented crisis right now. Walt Disney World typically sees millions of visitors every year, but things are remarkably different in 2023. Several reports expose that Disney theme parks are shockingly empty this summer, and there are several reasons contributing to the company’s ongoing downturn. With ticket prices reaching sky-high levels while Americans take another hit to their purchasing power this year, many families can no longer afford to visit Disney’s famous parks, and that means more financial losses for the entertainment giant. Today, we decided to expose what is really behind Disney’s growing problems.

According to an attendance analysis from travel company Touring Plans, Disney's flagship Orlando, Florida, theme park is seeing "shockingly low crowds" this summer. Analysts highlighted that the attendance levels over the July Fourth weekend "looked more like September crowds" and were the lowest in almost a decade. This is happening despite the holiday traditionally being one of the busiest times for Disney World.

Touring Plans used numbers provided by the Disney park mobile app, which tracks day-to-day attendance by ride wait times, and it found that at Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which has been described by Orlando's tourism board as the "world's most famous theme park," the average wait time the Fourth of July holiday was 27 minutes. This was a stark change compared to 47 minutes before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Disney World's Animal Kingdom, saw Independence Day wait times of just 25 minutes, Touring Plans reported, roughly 10 minutes shorter than the 34-minute wait times seen last year. But the biggest drop was seen at the park's Hollywood Studios, which had an average July Fourth wait time of just 18 minutes. This was a massive decrease from 2022 levels, according to the travel company, when wait times at the park averaged 44 minutes. Overall, the Fourth of July holiday was the third-slowest day at Disney World in the past twelve months.

Undoubtedly, the thinning traffic is bad news for the entertainment giant, which is in the midst of a $5.5 billion cost-cutting spree that has resulted in over 7,000 layoffs across its divisions, including sports cable empire ESPN, so far this year. Although Disney is often thought of as the quintessential family holiday, and U.S. households of all stripes have been flocking to Walt Disney World for nearly five decades, exorbitant ticket price increases are playing a major role in the ongoing slowdown. Disney CEO Bob Iger also hiked the price of certain rides while imposing tickets on previously offered free attractions. Many parkgoers have been "loudly complaining about Disney raising admission prices and eliminating free amenities," the Journal reported.

Now that a recession is at our door, and Americans’ saving rates are plunging, consumers are holding off on shelling out on expensive family vacations like visiting theme parks. Research from the Federal Reserve found that American households had completely depleted their pandemic-era excess savings by now. The entertainment giant hasn’t experienced such a severe crisis since its foundation, and deteriorating economic conditions will certainly complicate matters even further. The outlook remains cloudy for Disney, and with so many financial losses piling on, we can only hope its next production saves the day."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gerald Celente, "Trends In The News" 7/20/23

Gerald Celente, "Trends In The News" 7/20/23

"Democracies? Welcome To Slavelandia"

"In today's Trends in the News Gerald Celente discusses the in and outs of the financial sector as well as the latest developments in the Middle East and Ukraine."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Courting the Moon"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Courting the Moon"

"A Mayan legend says that the hummingbird is actually the sun

 in disguise, and he is trying to court a beautiful woman, who is the moon."

"A Look to the Heavens"

"A gorgeous spiral galaxy, M104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against an extensive central bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting a more popular moniker, the Sombrero Galaxy. This sharp optical view of the well-known galaxy made from ground-based image data was processed to preserve details often lost in overwhelming glare of M104's bright central bulge. 

Also known as NGC 4594, the Sombrero galaxy can be seen across the spectrum, and is host to a central supermassive black hole. About 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light-years away, M104 is one of the largest galaxies at the southern edge of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Still the colorful spiky foreground stars in this field of view lie well within our own Milky Way galaxy. "

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210514.html

Paulo Coelho, "The Bird And The Cage"

"The Bird And The Cage"

by Paulo Coelho

"Once upon a time, there was a bird. He was adorned with two perfect wings and with glossy, colorful, marvelous feathers. One day, a woman saw this bird and fell in love with him. She invited the bird to fly with her, and the two travelled across the sky in perfect harmony. She admired and venerated and celebrated that bird. But then she thought: He might want to visit far-off mountains! And she was afraid, afraid that she would never feel the same way about any other bird.

And she thought: “I’m going to set a trap. The next time the bird appears, he will never leave again.” The bird, who was also in love, returned the following day, fell into the trap and was put in a cage. She looked at the bird every day. There he was, the object of her passion, and she showed him to her friends, who said: “Now you have everything you could possibly want.”

However, a strange transformation began to take place: now that she had the bird and no longer needed to woo him, she began to lose interest. The bird, unable to fly and express the true meaning of his life, began to waste away and his feathers to lose their gloss; he grew ugly; and the woman no longer paid him any attention, except by feeding him and cleaning out his cage.

One day, the bird died. The woman felt terribly sad and spent all her time thinking about him. But she did not remember the cage, she thought only of the day when she had seen him for the first time, flying contentedly amongst the clouds. If she had looked more deeply into herself, she would have realized that what had thrilled her about the bird was his freedom, the energy of his wings in motion, not his physical body.

Without the bird, her life too lost all meaning, and Death came knocking at her door. “Why have you come?” she asked Death. “So that you can fly once more with him across the sky,” Death replied. “If you had allowed him to come and go, you would have loved and admired him ever more; alas, you now need me in order to find him again.”

- http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

The Poet: John Jefferson, “Wounded But Not Slain”

“Wounded But Not Slain”

“I am wounded but I am not slain.

I’m bruised and faint they say…

I shall lay me down and bleed a while,

then I shall rise and fight again.

Just let me lie and bleed awhile;

I’ll not be long this way.

My Spirit’s low and my eyes flow.

My heart is sad and sore;

But when my pen’ent tears are gone,

I’ll stand and fight some more.

I’ll bind these wounds; I’ll dry these tears;

I’ll close this bleeding vein;

I’ll not lie here and weep and die:

I’ll rise and fight again.

‘Twas yesterday I bowed so low,

Was weak from tears and pain;

Today I’m strong; my fears are gone;

Today I fight again.”

- John Jefferson

"Live All You Can..."

"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

"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”

The Daily "Near You?"

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Sometimes..."

 

"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."

- https://medium.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

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."

- https://bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com/

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:

- https://www.youtube.com/

When the banks are gone, and they will be, what then?