"World War III Update, 10/19/23"

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/19/23

"Col. Douglas Macgregor,

 The Israeli Conflict: Can The US Support Two Wars?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"Compelling Video Evidence Points to Israeli Air Burst Bomb Striking al-Ahli Hospital Grounds, Killing Hundreds of Palestinian Civilians As They Slept on Courtyard Grounds Adjacent To the Parking Lot"

o

Colonel Douglas Macgregor Straight Calls, 10/19/23

"Russia - Ukraine War: This Is A Magnificent Tactic"

"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

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/19/23

"Col. Douglas Macgregor,

"Avoiding Armageddon"

"Judge Napolitano: How can we the United States and the West avoid Armageddon? 

Col. Douglas Macgregor: Well, that’s the that’s the question it should be on everyone's mind in Washington and sadly it seldom comes up I think the greatest challenge for Americans. Even more than for the Israelis is to understand just how profoundly the world we live in has changed since the last major war that the Israelis were compelled to fight and that was in 1973. 

Some of your Observers and audience may remember in 1973 Israel was attacked by the Syrians In the east in the north and at the same time attacked from the south and the west by Egypt. The problem was that Egypt had very limited goals. The Egyptian president was not interested in destroying or eradicating Israel. He simply wanted to regain control of the territory that had been lost in 1967. So, he moved across the canal, set up a defense and that was as far as he went The Syrians of course did try to break through and that was somewhat desperate for a period of time But the Israelis were able to meet that threat first before turning their entire attention to Egypt. 

This time the situation is very different! First of all the weapons have changed. The arsenal of rockets and missiles in the region is enormous. People are quoting numbers in the realm of a hundred and thirty thousand rockets and missiles from Hezbollah alone. We don’t even need to mention others in the region that kind of arsenal is enough in and of itself to destroy much of Israel. Then you have a problem with Hamas and Hezbollah and the rest of the region and that is the rest of the region is a sick of Israel as much of the world and Europe is sick of us and what I mean by that is that we are on the threshold of total war. 

That's what no one seems to understand if the Israelis march into Gaza, which I think would be a very unrewarding exercise for them, but nevertheless, they seem determined to do it, and if they do they will not only lose soldiers they will fail to root out the thousands of Hamas fighters that are there. They'll get some but they won't get them all. They will not improve their position at all with the people of Hamas or the people living on the so -called West Bank. And the rest of the region is prepared to go to war too. 

Stop and think about it. It’s not just Iran. In fact, Iran has militias that can attack us, and anyone who works with this in Iraq and Syria. That’s one part of the problem. The Iranians are not going to try to lob theater ballistic missiles at Israel because the Israelis have said they would use a nuclear weapon, but Turkey is different. And the Turks have an unhappy record with the Israelis. Just a few years ago, they tried to deliver humanitarian ai to Gaza. The Israelis boarded their ship, killed some of their citizens and turned back the aid. This kind of thing did not cultivate support and friendliness in Turkey. And remember, Mr. Erdogan is the de facto leading military power in the Sunni Muslim world. 

Finally, you have the Pakistanis who are very close to the Turks and have made it abundantly clear that the Turks will receive nuclear warheads and other capabilities from them if they need them in order to deter the Israelis from using a nuclear weapon. And finally, the Turks have the largest air forces and armies in the region. The Turks can put two million men in the field in the space of a little over a month. And the Turks are ferocious fighters. Now, all of this spells doom for the Israelis if they launch this attack on Gaza. What I just described is an unwinnable fight. Even the air power from the United States that we could commit is not going to be enough. And we all know we don’t have the troops on the ground. We simply don’t have very many soldiers or Marines at this point."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Truer words were never spoken...

"There are a multitude of fuses affixed to dozens of powder-kegs and little kids with matches are on the loose. I don’t know which of the fuses will be lit and which powder-keg will blow, but someone is bound to do something stupid, and then all hell will break loose. It could happen at any time. One military miscue. One assassination. One violent act that stirs the world. And the dominoes will topple, setting off fireworks not seen on this planet since 1939 – 1945. I can see it all very clearly."

- Jim Quinn

Peter Schiff, "The 'Unsinkable' American Consumer Is Drowning In Debt"

"The 'Unsinkable' American Consumer Is Drowning In Debt"

by Schiffgold

"Every time retail sales come in higher than expected, the mainstream media breathlessly reports this as proof that the American consumer is strong and resilient. In his podcast, Peter Schiff explained that these retail sales numbers aren’t a sign of a strong economy. They just reflect Americans paying more for less. And what’s worse, they’re burying themselves in debt to do it.

Retail sales were indeed stronger than expected in September, increasing by 0.7%. The expectation was for a 0.3% gain. Year-over-year, retail sales are up 3.8%. The media hyped the report. CNN said it was a sign that consumers “aren’t tapping out just yet.” But the report was not actually good news. First, it’s important to remember that retail sales data is not inflation-adjusted. Everything costs more. Everything you buy is a lot more expensive. So, assuming that you don’t buy less, and of course, some people are buying less, but if you just buy the same stuff and everything costs a lot more, well of course, retail sales are going to go up.”

But this doesn’t indicate that the economy is thriving, and it doesn’t mean Americans are on a spending spree buying more stuff. In many cases, they’re buying a lot less. They’re just paying more. And they’re buying fewer of the things that they want because they’re paying more to buy the things that they need.” If you adjust the annual retail sales increase of 3.8% by the CPI, it drops to 0.1%. In other words, almost the entirety of the retail sales increase was due to rising prices. Nevertheless, the raw retail sales data creates the impression that Americans are happily spending money. Peter said you can’t necessarily draw that conclusion.

"Americans aren’t happy that their grocery bill went up, and they’re probably not eating more or eating better. In fact, they’re probably trading down into lower-quality stuff. They’re just paying more.”

For instance, restaurant sales were up big. But if you’ve eaten out recently, you know the cost of everything on the menu has gone up dramatically. Even if you eat out less, you’re still spending more. Peter emphasized that none of this is a sign of a strong economy. It is a sign of inflation. And that’s all this retail sales number is reflecting — inflation. It’s not about a strong economy, but about rising inflation.” And we all know that actual prices are rising even faster than the CPI numbers indicate because the formula intentionally understates price inflation.

Obviously, if the government is underreporting how much prices are going up, then the retail sales are actually capturing the real increase in prices because it’s what the consumers are actually paying. It’s not what the government is pretending they’re actually paying, but what they are, in fact, paying. So, these retail sales numbers are probably a better reflection of inflation than the CPI.”

We shouldn’t celebrate this. It’s bad news. But the media keeps talking about the “unsinkable American consumer.” He’s not unsinkable. He’s downing in debt! And the only reason he’s still floating is because he’s got two or three jobs. This is not a report card on the success of the American economy, but on the failure. Because what it’s really measuring is the cost of living. People have to spend a lot more money to buy the same amount of stuff that they bought in the past.”

And as Peter noted, they’re buying a lot of this stuff on credit. Revolving credit – primarily credit card debt – surged by 13.9% in August. Americans now owe $1.28 trillion in revolving credit. According to MarketWatch, “Americans appear to be relying more on debt to pay for their purchases. They are also using more ‘buy now and pay later’ plans.”

Peter pointed out that breaking down retail sales reveals the strain felt by consumers. "Categories like food are up. But electronics sales are down. [Americans] are spending more on shelter. They’re spending more on energy. They’re spending more on food. They’re spending more on insurance. They’re spending more on healthcare. They’ve got to make these expenditures. They have no choice. And the problem is when they finish buying all the things they need, they don’t have much left over for the things that they want.”

The consumer credit data reveals the same thing. While credit card spending surged in August, non-revolving credit tanked. That represents borrowing for big-ticket items. So, Americans are using credit cards to pay for the basics like food and gas, and they’re not making bigger purchases at all. Peter goes on to explain why an economy built on consumer spending isn’t something to brag about."

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

"Gregory Mannarino, AM/PM 10/19/23"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 10/19/23

"Final Warning! Get Your Cash Out Of The Banks, 

The Debt Market Is Melting Down!"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Gregory Mannarino, PM 10/19/23

"Banks And The Entire System 

Is Much Worse Off Than We Think"

 - https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "The Economic Carnage You're Not Seeing"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 10/19/23

"The Economic Carnage You're Not Seeing"

"Witness the repercussions of the economic downturn as it unfolds - from the housing market's soaring interest rates to the skyrocketing prices brought about by inflation. Be part of our journey as we navigate through these turbulent times, exploring topics like #HomeBuilders, #GM, #NAR, #TheFed, and more. You can believe whatever you would like. But, the economy is in real trouble and we’re getting more and more warning signs that tell us how bad things are. Get yourself ready for more news."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Adventures With Danno, "AM/PM Food Prices"

Full screen recommended,

Adventures With Danno, AM 10/19/23

"Stocking Up At Kroger! Finding The Best Deals!"

"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and stocking up on all the best deals on groceries! We are taking advantage of some of the sales as prices continue to skyrocket all around the country!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Adventures with Danno, PM 10/19/23

"10 Items In Grocery Stores That Are 

Skyrocketing In Price In Fall 2023!"

"These are 10 items in grocery stores we are seeing skyrocket in price!  We go over why these items are important as this is just the beginning of what's to come and why we need to prepare accordingly!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Emergency Alert! Russian Nuke Forces Activated; Global Civil Unrest; Street Battles, Iran's Nuclear Plan"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper 10/18/23

"Emergency Alert! Russian Nuke Forces Activated; 

Global Civil Unrest; Street Battles, Iran's Nuclear Plan"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Redacted, "Scott Ritter: War With Iran Would Be Suicide And The U.S. Will Lose"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 10/18/23

"Scott Ritter: War With Iran Would 

Be Suicide And The U.S. Will Lose"

"Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter lays out how a U.S. backed war against Iran would bring devastation to both the United States and Israel. Ritter says Israel would be destroyed if it tries to face off against Hezbollah and Hamas simultaneously."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Bikinis, Garbage Loans, And Fishy Finance"

"Bikinis, Garbage Loans, And Fishy Finance"

by John Wilder

"The Big Solution to the Great Recession was printing lots of money. I would have (back then) thought that it would have hit the economy all at once. In reality, what the Federal Reserve® and the Treasury did was send all that money they printed off to the banks. The banks didn’t lend it. They kept it on the books, and in fact many of them redeposited their free money with the Fed™. In reality, the Fed© was scared about was the entire system locking up. It was pretty bad in 2009 – basic chemicals that were necessary (say, sulfuric acid) for a basic, functioning economy just stopped production.

No one knew who had money, or who would have money. As one friend of mine noted at the time, “When the tide goes out, you finally see who isn’t wearing swimming trunks.”

The inflation stayed “within target” for the Fed™, flipping up and down around 2% during the decade following. Again, with all of the money printed, I expected it to be more, and I still don’t trust the official government figures on inflation since that would be like trusting a used-car salesman on that gently used 1995 Ford Taurus© with only 350,000 miles on it.

COVID was the final straw, though. People produced less stuff, so there was a lower supply. The government printed a lot more money and then gave it to everyone, who most definitely didn’t save it, and in fact bid prices up on everything. Making nothing and buying everything? Inflation. Or my ex-wife.

Inflation finally triggered interest rates to go up. That posed a problem for the banks. Let’s take me: I have a small mortgage left on Stately Wilder Manor. I’m in no hurry to pay it off because I can get a CD for 5.5%, but my mortgage is only 4%. My mortgage is worth less to the banks now than I owe on it – if I were another bank, they’d sell it to me for less than I owe. That’s a problem for banks that have exposure to mortgages and didn’t sell them off or hedge them.

It’s not just mortgages – Silicon Valley Bank® decided to invest in lots of long-term bonds and such because inflation had been so low. Buy a corporate bond yielding 4%, pay depositors 1%, and profit! But when interest rates started heading upward, the same sort of math as with the bank that owns my mortgage applies – what used to be worth $100 is now only worth, say, $80. Oops. When the people who put hundreds of millions of dollars into the bank, money that wasn’t insured, find out. Bank funs. Er, bank runs.

How bad was it? Of the $172 billion deposited at the bank, only 11% was covered by deposit insurance. I imagine that there were quite a few tense billionaires like Oprah worried that she’d have to get a job at the McDonald’s® drive through, and how could she resist those perfectly salty fries? Since billionaires were in danger, the FDIC immediately said, “Rules? Who needs those. All money is safe in Bartertown!”

My initial expectation is that we’d see more bank failures right around now as interest rates increased and the piles of garbage on the balance sheets of the banks started to rot. Instead? Banks are still (I believe) happily lending money borrowed by the Fed™.

How do they do it? They manage to do it by having the Fed© allow them to mark their assets to what they paid for them, not what they’re worth. So, they’re lying. I’m fairly certain the Fed™ is buying this stuff to get it off the balance sheets of the banks and lending them more money whenever they don’t have enough caviar.

The rot, though, is still there – it’s only a matter of who pays for the rot. Debt always gets paid, the old saying goes, either by the borrower or by the lender. I do know of two local businesses that are going bankrupt. Their debt is what drove the bankruptcy. My guess is that, combined, they have a debt of a million and a half dollars (or so). Who will pay it? In the end, the lender will.

I think that might be at least part of the big jump in debt that the United States owes. As interest rates go up, Uncle Sam is acting like a raccoon and jumping straight into the trash can to eat the garbage loans and bonds that the banks had to throw out because they were stinking up the fridge. Here’s proof:

Eventually, printing lots and lots of money is like a magic trick the magician does one too many times and everyone sees how it works. Will it work this time? Unrelated, frequent commenter Ray notes this Give Send Go. I'll let him explain more. GiveSendGo - "Loco Needs Divorce from Prostate: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising."

- https://wilderwealthywise.com/

"Jeremiah Babe, 10/18/23"

Jeremiah Babe, 10/18/23

"Real Estate Market About To Be Destroyed; 

Do Not Buy A House; Mortgage Rates Hit 8% And Going Higher"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Believe"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Believe"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“The southern Milky Way appears spectacular in this composite image taken from Mangaia, the most southerly of the Cook Islands. Few sources of light pollution exist here, home to only 500 people.

The two bright stars at the Milky Way’s center are Alpha (left) and Beta Centauri. They point to Crux the Southern Cross. Near the horizon, two of the satellite galaxies of our Milky Way, the Small (left) and Large Magellanic Clouds are easy to spot.”

- http://www.astronomy.com/

"The Molten Pit Of Human Reality..."

"Friedrich Nietzsche in ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ holds that only a few people have the fortitude to look in times of distress into what he calls the molten pit of human reality. Most, studiously, ignore the pit. Artists and philosophers, for Nietzsche, are consumed however by an insatiable curiosity, a quest for truth and a desire for meaning. They venture down into the bowels of the molten pit. They get as close as they can before the flames and heat drive them back. This intellectual and moral honesty, Nietzsche wrote, comes with a cost. Those singed by the fire of reality become ‘burnt children’ he wrote, eternal orphans in empires of illusion."

- Chris Hedges

○

"We work in the dark. We do what we can to battle the evil that would otherwise destroy us. But if a man's character is his fate, it's not a choice but a calling. Sometimes the weight of this burden causes us to falter from the fragile fortress of our mind, allowing the monster without to turn within. We are left alone staring into the abyss, into the laughing face of madness."

- Fox Mulder, "X-Files"

○

q

○

Freely download "Beyond Good And Evil", by Friedrich Nietzsche, here:

- https://www.holybooks.com/

The Poet: Charles Bukowski, "Darkness Falls"

"Darkness Falls"

"Darkness falls upon Humanity

and faces become terrible things

that wanted more than there was.

All our days are marked with

unexpected affronts - 

some disastrous, others less so,

but the process is

wearing and continuous.

Attrition rules.

Most give way,

leaving empty spaces

where people should be.

And now,

as we ready to self-destruct,

there is very little left to kill,

which makes the tragedy

less and more,

much, much more."

- Charles Bukowski

The Daily "Near You?"

Alexander City, Alabama, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

Redacted, "High Alert! No One Is Prepared For What's Coming"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 10/18/23

"High Alert! No One Is Prepared For What's Coming"

"Europe is now on high alert as the Middle East powder keg is set to explode. Will Iran launch a preemptive attack? Will the US pummel targets in Lebanon? Meanwhile President Putin is demanding that Netanyahu show the satellite proof that Biden claims absolves Israel of the gruesome Gaza hospital attack. 'Prove it or it didn't happen.'"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Biggest Banks At Risk Of Collapse This Winter As Massive Failures Begun"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 10/18/23

"Biggest Banks At Risk Of Collapse

 This Winter As Massive Failures Begun"

Bank executives are warning about unprecedented risks in the financial system. According to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, banks are bracing for worst-case scenarios as higher interest rates elevate the risk of failures and losses in the months ahead. Americans should pay very close attention to what happens next because the turbulence will affect all of us.

The executive kicked off third-quarter earnings season alerting investors about a threatening outlook: “Now may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades,” he wrote in the company’s latest report. Dimon noted during an interview with CNN that bank executives across the United States are “climbing the wall of worry,” referring to the poor risk assessment of Wall Street investors right now.

In total, U.S. banks could be grappling with at least $650 billion of unrealized losses in their securities portfolios, according to analysts estimates, after prospects of interest rates staying higher for longer led to a bond market rout in the third quarter.

Unrealized losses have come under closer scrutiny by investors since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March. Back then, the institution sold a portfolio of its holdings at a sharp loss, precipitating its downfall and fueling the worst industry turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis.

The industry’s woes have gone from bad to worse after Moody’s Investors Service cut the credit ratings of 10 small and mid-sized American banks. The actions have sparked widespread concerns over American lenders’ costs, profitability, and specific exposures and have also raised crucial questions about the banking sector’s potential vulnerability to another crisis.

Debt delinquency also shot up in the past quarter. Losses currently stand at 3.63%, up 1.5 percentage points from the bottom, and the firm sees them rising another 1.3 percentage points to 4.93% by the end of 2023. This comes at a time when Americans owe more than $1 trillion on credit cards, the highest level in U.S. history.

The number of Americans who have filed for personal bankruptcy went up by 20%, legal services firm Epiq reported. Even though filing for bankruptcy can alleviate serious financial pressure, it also impacts credit scores for up to ten years and makes it harder to secure housing, loans, jobs, and even security clearances.

Simultaneously, corporate bankruptcies are soaring, too. So far, more than 400 corporations have gone under. Corporate bankruptcies are rising at the fastest pace since 2010, and are double the level seen this time last year.

Companies in the consumer discretionary and industrial sectors have seen the most bankruptcies as demand continues to cool down. Historically, these sectors carry significant debt on their balance sheets, putting them at higher risk in a rising rate environment. In the past twelve months, corporate interest costs have increased by 22%. They are also contending with higher wages, energy, and materials, among others, meaning that more and more companies are under greater pressure to cut costs, restructure their debt, or in the worst case, fold.

The consumer is breaking, companies are falling apart, and the financial system is crumbling down piece by piece. Another disaster seems to be brewing, and every one of us will be affected by it."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

'Few Things..."

"If your view of the world is that people use reason for their important decisions, you are setting yourself up for a life of frustration and confusion. You’ll find yourself continually debating people and never winning except in your own mind. Few things are as destructive and limiting as a worldview that assumes people are mostly rational."

- Scott Adams

○

"How To Deal With Irrational People"

Gerald Celente, "Judge Napolitano: America's Blind Support For Israel"

Gerald Celente, Trends Journal, PM 10/18/23

"Judge Napolitano: America's Blind Support For Israel"

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

- https://trendsjournal.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "The System Is Breaking Down Rapidly, Expect Many More Body Bags To Get Filled"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 10/18/23

"The System Is Breaking Down Rapidly, 

Expect Many More Body Bags To Get Filled"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

Bill Bonner, "Guns and More Guns"

"Guns and More Guns"

Mr. Biden drags America into war on two fronts..

by Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman

"You only step into that river once."

~ Heraclitus

Dublin, Ireland - "Through September, the US government had already borrowed $1.7 trillion, so far this year. It is on target to reach a total of $2 trillion before the year is out. This is the second biggest borrowing spree in history (after 2020).

We doubt this record for borrowing will hold for very long. Ms. Janet Yellen says the US can afford to back the Ukraine on the Eurasian Steppe and Israel in the Levant – at the same time. Business Insider: "The nation's top treasury official said the US does not have to pick and choose between aiding Israel and Ukraine in their ongoing military conflicts.

It's been just over a week since Israel officially declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after the group attacked several towns in southern Israel. Since the war began, President Joe Biden and US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle offered support for Israel, while at the same time pushing for the country to preserve innocent Palestinian lives in Gaza."

Guns and Butter: Lyndon Johnson famously declared that the US was fully capable of paying for ‘guns and butter’ – referring to the Great Society at home and the Vietnam war in Southeast Asia. But the Biden team has gone further – with two ‘wars’ overseas…while the churner churns butter 24/7 at home.

Johnson’s guns and butter campaigns were both flops. The Heritage Foundation calculates that $22 trillion has been spent on Johnson’s War on Poverty. But the poverty rate was 14% in 1965. Today, it is about the same. And the war in Vietnam ended as it began – disgracefully. The North Vietnamese won the war and took control over both North and South Vietnam.

But Johnson’s ‘Guns and Butter’ spending had consequences. It produced the inflation of the ‘70s along with the fatal change in the US money system of 1971. What will be the fruit of the ‘guns and more guns’ program of the Biden Bunch? We wait to find out. But let’s take a guess. Inflation? Two failed ‘wars?’ More poverty?

Not Worth a Dime: This year, interest on the federal debt is at $883 billion – about even with the Pentagon budget. It is expected to pull ahead in the years to come as the debt pile gets larger and interest rates go up. Federal debt is already reaching up to $34 trillion. Each year, more and more of it must be refinanced – at higher and higher rates.

US Treasury debt is the safest credit in the world – because the feds can print all the money they want. But the money paid to lenders back in the Johnson years is not the same money they get back today. And the money they get back tomorrow is not going to be the same as the money they get back today, either. According to the BLS, the 1965 dollar is now worth about 10 cents.

Except for the decade of the 1970s, inflation rates were actually stable or coming down for most of that period. This time, the feds are running bigger deficits than ever – with a $50 trillion federal debt expected by 2030. And this time, interest rates are going up, not down. So each additional increment of debt is more expensive. Which means, the feds will have to borrow money to finance their wars…and borrow money to pay the interest on the money they borrowed to fund their wars.

Another thing that is different: globalization is not driving down prices the way it used to. In 1978 China began a series of reforms that turned it into an economic powerhouse. “To get rich is glorious,” said Deng Tsiaoping, as he unleashed some 500 million people to provide cheaper and cheaper products for Western consumers. That trend has played itself out. Workers in China are no longer content to work for peanuts. Imports into the US are no longer dirt cheap.

Higher Price Ahead: What else might make tomorrow’s inflation worse than yesterday’s? The industrial revolution is no longer providing big increases in productivity. And the ball and chain of regulations, restrictions and petty-fogging paperwork has gotten heavier and heavier. As a result of all of these things, US GDP is growing at only about half the rate it was during the Great Society era. Less output inevitably means higher prices.

Putting it all together:
• 2 wars, not just one.
• Rising interest rates, not falling rates.
• Imports from China are no longer holding prices down.
• More regulation than ever.

• The Industrial Revolution may have played itself out (the internet revolution has not added much to GDP).

• GDP growth rates are only half of those of the ‘60s.

While Wall Street is generally celebrating the big drop in inflation since last year, the actual inflation rate has gone up for the last three months. Did it bottom in June? Are we in for higher and higher prices…as far as the eye can see? We don’t know. But that river never stands still."

o

Joel’s Note: “Change is the only constant,” observed Heraclitus. (The pre-Socratic philosopher was full of witty aphorisms.) And here’s another change… or perhaps better stated, “divergence.”

The “Magnificent Seven” companies in the S&P 500 (what our macro analyst, Dan Denning, sometimes refers to as “The Generals”) are eating up a larger and larger portion of the index. Those top seven stocks are, by market cap, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Nvidia, Meta (Facebook), and Tesla.

A decade ago, they accounted for roughly 7-8% of the total S&P 500 index by market cap. Today, according to figures compiled by Bank of America, they weigh in at close to 30%, a record high. Here’s the chart (from BofA)…

Why is this relevant? For one thing, it means that the rally we’ve seen so far this year is not as broad-based as it might have been. Or rather, it is largely concentrated in those few, high-flying tech stocks. “The equal weight S&P index is barely positive year-to-date,” explains Dan, “while the 'regular' index is up 13%.”

Take a look at the chart, below. (You can see the divergence beginning to appear back in March, when the Magnificent Seven/Generals began to take off…leaving the rest of the S&P 500 index in their dust.)

“The S&P 500 is a market cap weighted index,” continues Dan. “The bigger a company's market capitalization, the bigger the impact its price movement has on the direction of the index.” As you can see from the first chart, the last time the Magnificent Seven companies ate up so much of the S&P 500 total market cap was back in 2021 (when it hit 29.1%)… “Just before BPR set sail,” Dan reminds us, “…and right before all those stocks crashed.”

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "The Real Estate Numbers Don’t Lie"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 10/18/23

"The Real Estate Numbers Don’t Lie"

"You cannot argue with the numbers when it comes to real estate. 2023 is going to be the slowest year on record for real estate transactions since 2008. I discuss the rise of foreclosures, declining affordability, and the impending slowdown in real estate."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

The Atlantis Report, 10/18/23

"The Fed Absolutely Destroyed The Housing Market"

"Rising borrowing costs have made it difficult for numerous potential buyers to enter the market. Concurrently, current homeowners are hesitant to list their properties for sale because they wish to retain the attractive low-interest rates they secured years ago. This dynamic has sustained high property prices despite declining demand. For these reasons and many more, the housing market remains uncertain, and experts believe that affordability will only lessen if mortgage rates undergo a more substantial reduction.

The major issue here is the sudden increase. Nothing is the same as it was even just a year ago. Investors, homeowners, buyers - everybody is awakening to the rude shock that it’s no longer business as usual. Home prices remained remarkably stable between 1970 and 2000, but a significant shift occurred in the early 2000s. Out of the blue, home prices began to surge considerably faster than inflation. By 2006, home prices had reached their zenith during the initial bubble, having grown by 80% since 1970. However, in 2007, they underwent a slight correction, and by 2008, a full-scale crash was underway."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Adventures With Danno, 10/18/23"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 10/18/23

"'Budget Friendly' Cleaning Supplies At Dollar Tree!"

"In today's vlog, we are at Dollar Tree, and we are checking out all of the cleaning products! We go through each item and discuss whether it is a good deal and whether it's good or bad quality."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Full screen recommended.

Travelling with Russell, 10/18/23

"Russian Typical (Moscow) Farmers Market:

 What Did I Find?"

"What does a Russian farmer market really look like in the Capitol of Russia. Moscow. Discover all of the different foods from all over Russia brought together at the Tverskaya Ploshchad Market Fair. What interesting foods will I find?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Canadian Prepper, "Red Alert: Worldwide Riots; Embassies Stormed; Military Bases On Alert; Declarations Of War"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 10/17/23

"Red Alert: Worldwide Riots; Embassies Stormed; 

Military Bases On Alert; Declarations Of War"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Mecano, "Hijo de la Luna"

Mecano, "Hijo de la Luna"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Dwarf galaxies NGC 147 (left) and NGC 185 stand side by side in this sharp telescopic portrait. The two are not-often-imaged satellites of M31, the great spiral Andromeda Galaxy, some 2.5 million light-years away. Their separation on the sky, less than one degree across a pretty field of view, translates to only about 35 thousand light-years at Andromeda's distance, but Andromeda itself is found well outside this frame. 

Brighter and more famous satellite galaxies of Andromeda, M32 and M110, are seen closer to the great spiral. NGC 147 and NGC 185 have been identified as binary galaxies, forming a gravitationally stable binary system. But recently discovered faint dwarf galaxy Cassiopeia II also seems to be part of their system, forming a gravitationally bound group within Andromeda's intriguing population of small satellite galaxies."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211104.html

“Screw The Way Things Are, I Want Out!”

“Screw The Way Things Are, I Want Out!”

by Paul Rosenberg

“This is a beautiful planet, filled, in the main, with decent, cooperative humans. And yet, I want out. Give me any kind of functional spaceship and any reasonable chance, and I’ll take it. This place is anti-human. It chokes the best that’s in us, aggressively and self-righteously. I was struck not long ago by a comment of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s, in which he expressed the same kind of feeling: “I ought to have become a star in the sky. Instead of which I have remained stuck on earth…”

All of us who’ve had a moment of transcendence - who made some type of contact with what is truly the best inside ourselves - have also sensed that life in the current world is incompatible with it. I think we should stop burying that understanding beneath piles of “that’s the way things are,” “we should be realistic,” and “you can’t fight City Hall.” Screw the way things are, screw “realistic,” and screw City Hall too. I was made for better things than this, and you were too.

Everywhere I turn, some kind of ruler, sub-ruler, enforcer, regulator, or “right-thinking” quasi-enforcer demands not only my money but also for me to make myself easy to punish, thus showing myself to be a good subservient. That’s not just wrong; it’s a disease. I don’t care whether such people are “following orders,” “just doing their job,” or whatever else they tell themselves to soothe their rightly troubled souls. That mode of living is perverse, and these people are enforcing a disease.

Let me make this part very clear: The desire to control others is disease; it is corruption. Willing controllers are a morally inferior class. And the truly deranged thing is that these people rule the world! Forget about why this is so - we can debate that later - focus rather on the utter insanity of this: A minority of moral defectives, who think extortion is a virtue, rule people who are happy to live and let live, by force.

That’s outright lunacy. And to support the lunacy, we have lies, intimidation, and slogans: “In a democracy, you’re really ruling yourself,” “Only crazy people disagree,” “It’s always been this way,” and so on. To all of which I reply, How stupid do you think we are? You drilled that crap into us when we were children, but we’re not children anymore. And if “our way” isn’t as bad as North Korea, that makes it right? Only to a fool.

And the results of “the way it’s always been”… my God, the results… A study from the 1980s found that since 3600 BC, the world has known only 292 years of peace. During this period there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which 3.6 billion people have been killed.

This is what I’m supposed to serve with all my heart and soul? A Bronze Age system that can’t keep itself from slaughter? We’re talking about a 5,600-year track record of mass death, and yet fundamental change is considered unthinkable? Well, screw that too, because I think deep, fundamental change is called for, and was called for a long time ago.

Again, this is a wonderful planet and most of the people on it are decent, but it is ruled by insanity, and I want out. Yes, I know, there’s really nowhere to go. Every place I might go is dominated by the same diseased model, and dissent is punished the same, and in some places worse. That’s one of the reasons space appeals to me; it gives me a chance to escape this madness.

I’ll draw this to a close with a passage from C. Delisle Burns’s wonderful "The First Europe," describing why the Roman Empire collapsed: “Great numbers of men and women were unwilling to make the effort required for the maintenance of the old order, not because they were not good enough to fulfill their civic duties, but because they were too good to be satisfied with a system from which so few derived benefit.”

I, for one, am unwilling to expend any effort to maintain the present order. It is by its nature incompatible with the best that is in us, and always will be. Those of us who want to be more and better cannot support the current order without opposing what’s best in ourselves. Screw that.”

- https://www.freemansperspective.com/

The Poet: Mary Oliver, “White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field”

“White Owl Flies Into and Out of the Field”

“Coming down out of the freezing sky

with its depths of light,

like an angel, or a Buddha with wings,

it was beautiful, and accurate,

striking the snow and whatever was there

with a force that left the imprint

of the tips of its wings - five feet apart -

and the grabbing thrust of its feet,

and the indentation of what had been running

through the white valleys of the snow -

and then it rose, gracefully,

and flew back to the frozen marshes

to lurk there, like a little lighthouse,

in the blue shadows -

so I thought:

maybe death isn't darkness, after all,

but so much light wrapping itself around us -

as soft as feathers -

that we are instantly weary of looking, and looking,

and shut our eyes, not without amazement,

and let ourselves be carried,

as through the translucence of mica,

to the river that is without the least dapple or shadow,

that is nothing but light - scalding, aortal light -

in which we are washed and washed

out of our bones.”

- Mary Oliver

"Once Upon a Time, The End"

"Once Upon a Time, The End"

by Martin Zamyatin

"Those that can make you believe absurdities

can make you commit atrocities."

- Voltaire

"The small group of devoted followers gathered around Chicago housewife Dorothy Martin sat in stunned silence as the clock on her suburban living room wall struck midnight on the twentieth of December, 1954…and nothing happened. Many had left jobs and spouses and given away all their money and possessions in order to await the arrival of alien beings from the planet Clarion, who Martin had assured them would descend at that appointed hour, carrying the faithful few off in their flying saucers just before huge floods engulfed the planet Earth. Finally, four hours after their scheduled departure time, Martin broke her silence.

As the group readjusted their bras, belts, and zippers - having been instructed to discard any metal objects which might interfere with the aliens’ telepathic radio transmissions - their tearful host revealed the reason why their intergalactic rescuers had failed to appear: Apparently it had all been only an elaborate test of faith, and the group’s advanced state of enlightenment had saved the entire planet from a watery destruction!

Surprisingly, only one or two of Martin’s followers were unconvinced by this perfectly rational explanation. Among them, however, was social psychologist Leon Festinger, who had secretly infiltrated the group. Festinger would later write about Martin - using the pseudonym of Marian Keech - in his groundbreaking 1958 book, "When Prophecy Fails." (Not surprisingly, Festinger is credited with coining the psychological term ‘cognitive dissonance.’)

Following publication of Festinger’s book, the group predictably collapsed under the weight of public ridicule. Martin fled to Peru to warn the clueless natives about the imminent re-emergence of Atlantis, before later resurfacing in Arizona, where she joined crackpot L. Ron Hubbard’s nascent pseudoscientific movement, Scientology.

It seems that for as long as people have inhabited the world, they have anticipated its imminent demise. (In fact, the oldest known apocalyptic prediction is depicted on Assyrian tablets from 2800 BC.) In what may be the earliest example in European folklore, a Frankish villager wandered off into the forest in 591, only to be accosted by a swarm of ravenous flies. Overwhelmed, the poor fellow completely lost his mind and returned to his village clothed in animal pelts, claiming he was Jesus Christ, sent to gather his flock before the coming Rapture. (Perhaps resenting the competition, a local bishop hired a gang of thugs to capture the Lord of the Flies, who they rapturously hacked into little bits.)

The failure of one apocalyptic prophecy not only failed to deter its devoted followers but in fact spawned several entirely new religions. When the world failed to end as predicted in the ‘Great Disappointment’ of 1843-44, Massachusetts preacher William Miller’s tens of thousands of followers splintered off to found the Seventh Day Adventists, as well as the obnoxious doorknockers known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. When the next fateful year of 1874 passed without the desired fireworks, the latter’s charismatic founder, Charles Taze Russell, explained that Jesus had indeed returned, but was invisible to all except the truly devout. (Predictably, few dared admit to being lacking in the requisite level of faith.)

The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, had declared way back in 1832 that 1890 would be the year of Jesus’s long awaited return engagement. (Later jailed for fraud, Smith somehow failed to predict his own deliverance by an angry mob at age 39.) Russell revised the fateful year to 1881…then 1914…and finally, 1918. (The latter dates spanned World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic, events that while apocalyptic for many, fell short of being world ending.)

Our own time has seen the horrors of the Peoples Temple - in which 914 adults and children committed suicide in the jungles of Guyana in 1978; the Branch Davidians, an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists - 75 of whom died in the FBI standoff at Waco in 1993; Aum Shinri Kyo -whose poison gas attacks on the Tokyo subway in 1994-95 left 19 innocent people dead; and -neither least nor unfortunately, last - Heaven’s Gate, 39 of whose members committed suicide in 1996, fully expecting (like Dorothy Martin) their spirits to be carried away by aliens hiding in the wake of an approaching comet.

It was probably no coincidence that all of these cults were acting in anticipation of an impending Bible-inspired Day ofJudgement. One is tempted to blame these kinds of incidents on the delusions of a small minority of misguided religious fanatics, except that millions of people alive today are expecting an imminent Biblical apocalypse. In a 2012 global poll, fully one out of 7 people said they thought the world would end during their lifetime - and rather ominously, Americans topped the list of doomsayers at 22%. Since their government has the means to fulfil their death wish many times over, one can only hope their gloomy prediction won’t one day become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just call it a bedtime story for humanity."

- http://www.321gold.com/editorials/

"Jeremiah Babe, 10/17/23"

Jeremiah Babe, 10/17/23

"Without Free Money We Got Big Trouble; Banks Keep Closing,

 Get Your Cash Out; Battle Of Armageddon?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Richland Center, Wisconsin, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

Gerald Celente, "We're On The Verge Of Economic And Human Annihilation"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 10/17/23

"We're On The Verge Of Economic And Human Annihilation"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Walmart CEO Warns Americans Will Freak Out This Winter As Prices Continue To Soar"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 10/17/23

"Walmart CEO Warns Americans Will Freak 

Out This Winter As Prices Continue To Soar"

"Americans are about to hit a breaking point, according to Walmart’s CEO. Soaring prices are severely impacting consumer spending habits, and the world’s biggest retailer is worried about how this trend is going to affect its bottom line this fall and winter. Bill Simon, the head of U.S. operations for four years, revealed that for the first time in a decade, the company is seeing a significant slowdown in sales activity as consumers start to buckle.

Simon believes the U.S. consumer is on the verge of folding due to an accumulation of pressures exacerbating people’s money issues. During an interview with CNBC earlier this week, the executive pointed to a series of factors working together to squeeze Americans’ purchasing power, and forcing them to tighten their budgets even further. Those include inflation, high-interest rates, and rising political tensions around the nation and the globe.

The former Walmart chief executive also warned that discounts and bargains will become harder to find in the coming weeks and months. Simon said that promotions won’t be nearly as good as they were in the past. He also exposed that not only Walmart but many other major retailers are using an old trick to hide the true value of discounts from consumers.

On top of that, brands are also using shrinkflation by reducing the amount of product in the packaging while keeping the same price. Although some consumers may fall for the trick a few times, eventually they notice the change and realize they are spending more money, so they tend to pull back.

Walmart customers are also outraged about recent price increases. A new viral TikTok exposing how much prices at Walmart stores have climbed is leaving superfans particularly frustrated. TikTok creator @__curtdogg recently racked up 3.7 million views on a video where he compared a 2020 receipt and a recent receipt with the exact same items. The most shocking finding was that even Walmart’s house brand Great Value has shot up in price over the past three years.

Walmart is already trying to prepare shareholders for an earnings miss this quarter. Even though people are spending more, they are buying less and this is driving sales volumes down and hurting the megaretailer’s bottom line. Walmart executives seem so desperate to conceal the results that, last week, they released a note saying that weight loss medications such as Ozempic are leading consumers to buy less food, and that is eating at the retail giant’s food profit margins. The company said it analyzed anonymous data of the customers who are buying the medicines at their stores, plus what the individuals spend on groceries, and it found that they are consuming increasingly less with each passing month.

But while only 14% of Americans use Ozempic, nearly 60% said they are struggling to afford groceries due to higher prices, a new report by Attest showed. The situation is getting so extreme that more and more people are losing hope that things will ever get better. And when it comes to incomes, U.S. households making under $50,000 and over $100,000 are all reporting greater financial challenges this year. In essence, they are on an unsustainable path of losing savings, and increasing debt. And with the cost of essentials shooting up all across the nation, it is easy to understand why the U.S. consumer is starting to break."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

Col. Douglas Macgregor, "The Situation In Ukraine Grows More And More Dangerous"

Col. Douglas Macgregor, Straight Calls 10/17/23

"The Situation In Ukraine Grows More And More Dangerous"

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/

"The Gaza Open Air Prison: Unraveling The Dark Realities"

"The Gaza Open Air Prison:

 Unraveling The Dark Realities"

By Mike Adams

Over many years, Israel has perfected the human enslavement and extermination model that will power "15-minute cities" and human extermination camps that will be pushed by depopulation globalists as the next phase of human extermination gets under way. The Gaza Strip is a massive experiment in human enslavement and behavioral engineering involving 2.3 million civilians who have now been dubbed "animals" and are being systematically displaced and / or exterminated. Everything learned from this pilot program will next be deployed against all of us.

Get the (shocking) full details in today's broadcast here:

- https://www.brighteon.com/

Judge Napolitano, "Scott Ritter, 'Why I No Longer Stand With Israel'"

Full screen recommended.

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/17/23"

Scott Ritter, "Why I No Longer Stand With Israel"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Gaza Hospital Massacre"

Full screen recommended.

"Hospital Blast: Hundreds Feared Dead In Gaza Explosion"

"Israel Defense Forces is reacting after Hamas health officials say 

an Israeli airstrike on a hospital in Gaza has killed more than 500 people."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Crux, 10/17/23

"Hamas Says Hundreds Dead In Hospital Strike, 

Israel Kills Top Commander, Iran Warns 'Shockwave'”

"Hamas said one of the top leaders of its armed wing was killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip. A member of the higher military council of Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades, Ayman Nofal was in charge of the Central Gaza area. The Gaza govt media office claims Israel attacked the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, killing hundreds of people. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said Hamas has the option of surrender or to die. The IDF said another anti-tank guided missile was fired from Lebanon, at the northern town of Zar’it. Meanwhile, the deputy commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards has warned Israel of “another shockwave on the way.”

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Al Jazeera English. 10/17/23

"Israel Kills 500 In Gaza Hospital Strike As Thousands Sheltered"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

What kind of MONSTERS bomb crowded hospitals?!