"Has A 'Silent Depression' Already Started In The United States?"

"Has A 'Silent Depression' 

Already Started In The United States?"

by Michael Snyder

"The Biden administration and the corporate media are telling us over and over that the economy is just fine, but the term “silent depression” has been going viral on TikTok. Housing, vehicles, food and just about everything else that we spend money on is far more unaffordable today than it was during the Great Depression of the 1930s. A realtor in Florida named Freddie Smith posted a video on TikTok with some absolutely startling numbers about the cost of living in the United States today, and that is what started the “silent depression” trend.

TikTok user Freddie Smith, a realtor based in Orlando, posted a video in September claiming that the U.S. economy is in what he calls a “Silent Depression.” In the video, which has amassed nearly 800,000 likes, Smith compares the average 2023 salary and basic costs to those of the Great Depression to highlight the growing cost-of-living crisis in the country.

Watch video here.

“If you look back to the Great Depression, the house was only three times the average salary. Now, it is eight times the average salary,” Smith said. “The car was 46% of the salary, the car today is 85% of the salary. And here’s the craziest part, the rent was 16% of the average salary, it is now 42% of the average salary.”

"Controversial ‘Silent Depression’ Trend 

Has Gone Viral Reveals True Economy"

Of course he is right on target. There is a reason why 62 percent of the country is currently living paycheck to paycheck. The cost of living has become incredibly oppressive for most Americans, and nobody can deny that reality.

Many Americans are working as hard as they can, but they just keep falling farther and farther behind. But we aren’t supposed to talk about what is happening. We are just supposed to pretend that everything is just wonderful. And now the corporate media has been putting out lots of articles attempting to debunk Smith’s videos. Here is just one example…"But economists strongly disagree. “Any notion from TikTok that life was better in 1923 than it is now is divorced from reality,” said Columbia Business School economics professor Brett House."

So what is the truth? Are we in a “silent depression” or not? Let’s take a look at three key areas. If honest numbers were being used, they would show that GDP growth has been negative for almost the entire time that Joe Biden has been in the White House. That would indicate that we are at least experiencing a recession. And if honest numbers were being used, they would show that the unemployment rate in this country is sitting at about 25 percent right now.

Needless to say, that is absolutely horrible. And if the rate of inflation was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, it would still be in double digit territory even though it has come down a bit. The official numbers that the government gives us are designed to make us feel good about things.

But at this point things are so bad that the charade is falling apart. It certainly feels like a “silent depression” if you just got laid off from your job. And it certainly feels like a “silent depression” if you cannot pay your bills…

Millions of Americans strapped with student loan debt are still not paying their bills after a three-year payment hiatus ended this fall. Federal student loan payments restarted at the beginning of October after President Biden declined to extend the pandemic-era pause that first began in March 2020 under his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. However, 40% of the 22 million borrowers who had bills due failed to make a payment as of mid-November, according to a new report published by the Department of Education. That means about 9 million Americans who have payments due are not making them.

And it certainly feels like a “silent depression” if you cannot sell your home…"Home sales in California plunged to the lowest level in 15 years in November, according to the latest data shared by the California Association of Realtors (CAR). According to a report released on Tuesday, existing single-family home sales were down 7.4 percent last month compared to October and down 5.8 percent from November 2022, totaling 223,940. It was the biggest monthly decline in the past year, which plunged existing home sales in California to the lowest level since the Great Recession of 2008-2009."

And it certainly feels like a “silent depression” if you are living in the streets…"Homelessness shot up by more than 12% this year, reaching 653,104 people. The numbers represent the sharpest increase and largest unhoused population since the federal government began tallying totals in 2007, the U.S. Department of Urban Planning and Development said Friday.

If the economy is in “good shape” why are Americans becoming homeless at the fastest pace ever recorded? That doesn’t make any sense at all. But those at the top of the economic food chain simply do not understand what all the fuss is about. Today, Americans age 70 and older now hold more than 30 percent of the nation’s wealth. For the moment, life is good for the elite, and they think that the rest of us just need to work harder. Of course they shouldn’t be looking down their noses at the rest of us, because hard times are coming for them as well. The “silent depression” that has already started is hitting those at the bottom of the economic food chain the hardest, but those at the very top will soon be feeling it too."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "Corporate America Is Gouging Prices While You Lose Your Job"

Full screen recommended.

Jeremiah Babe, 12/22/23

"Corporate America Is Gouging Prices 

While You Lose Your Job"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ithoA6pVQbk

"15 Fast Food Chains That Are In Deep, Deep Trouble"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 12/22/23

"15 Fast Food Chains That Are In Deep, Deep Trouble"

"Delving into the significant challenges faced by 15 iconic American fast food chains in the wake of the pandemic and the current US financial crisis. As the economic landscape shifts and consumer behaviour changes, well-established franchises such as Subway, KFC, Burger King, and Papa John’s contend with closures, declining sales, and bankruptcy."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, "Laguna Indigo"

Full screen recommended.

Liquid Mind, "Laguna Indigo"

Musical Interlude: Moby, "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad"

Full screen recommended.

Moby, "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" (Ben-E.dit)

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Do you see the bat? It haunts this cosmic close-up of the eastern Veil Nebula. The Veil Nebula itself is a large supernova remnant, the expanding debris cloud from the death explosion of a massive star. While the Veil is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), NGC 6995, known informally as the Bat Nebula, spans only 1/2 degree, about the apparent size of the Moon. That translates to 12 light-years at the Veil's estimated distance, a reassuring 1,400 light-years from planet Earth.

In the composite of image data recorded through narrow band filters, emission from hydrogen atoms in the remnant is shown in red with strong emission from oxygen atoms shown in hues of blue. Of course, in the western part of the Veil lies another seasonal apparition: the Witch's Broom Nebula."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211027.html

"We Can Learn To Fly!"

"Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live - to learn, to discover, to be free! How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!"

"What he had once hoped for the Flock, he now gained for himself alone;

he learned to fly, and was not sorry for the price that he had paid...”

- Richard Bach, 

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull”

Freely download “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”, by Richard Bach, here:

-https://archive.org/

The Poet: Carl Sandburg, “From the Shore"

“From the Shore"

“A lone gray bird,

Dim-dipping, far-flying,

Alone in the shadows and grandeurs and tumults

Of night and the sea

And the stars and storms.

Out over the darkness it wavers and hovers,

Out into the gloom it swings and batters,

Out into the wind and the rain and the vast,

Out into the pit of a great black world,

Where fogs are at battle, sky-driven, sea-blown,

Love of mist and rapture of flight,

Glories of chance and hazards of death

On its eager and palpitant wings.

Out into the deep of the great dark world,

Beyond the long borders where foam and drift

Of the sundering waves are lost and gone

On the tides that plunge and rear and crumble.”

- Carl Sandburg 

"Mass Psychosis - How an Entire Population Becomes Mentally Ill"

Full screen recommended.

"Mass Psychosis - 

How an Entire Population Becomes Mentally Ill"

"In this video we are going to explore the most dangerous of all psychic epidemics, the mass psychosis. A mass psychosis is an epidemic of madness and it occurs when a large portion of a society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions. Such a phenomenon is not a thing of fiction. Two examples of mass psychoses are the American and European witch hunts 16th and 17th centuries and the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th century.

This video will aim to answer questions surrounding mass psychosis: What is it? How does is start? Has it happened before? Are we experiencing one right now? And if so, how can the stages of a mass psychosis be reversed?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Hawkins, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Acceptance..."

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

- Margaret E. Rise

"World War III Prelude: Geopolitical Round Table"

Full screen recommended.

Tech Show, 12/22/23

"Yemen Attack US Base On The Border Of Israel!"

"In this in-depth video, we look at the recent shocking incident in which Yemen conducted a daring attack on a US military base on Israel's border, reportedly in support of Palestine. We'll look at the Middle East's complicated geopolitical landscape, the motivations behind this bold act, and the potential ramifications for the region and world politics.

Yemen, a long-running problem in the Arabian Peninsula, is a key emphasis. We'll talk about the current civil conflict, the Houthi rebels, and their allegiance to Iran. We'll also look at how Yemen sees the US's position in the Saudi-led coalition and how it affects the Yemeni people. Another critical component of this topic is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We'll look at the conflict's historical roots, rival land claims, and the continuing difficulties concerning territory, Jerusalem, refugees, and settlements.

The US position in the Israeli-Palestinian issue will be addressed, including its military and political support for Israel, as well as its role in mediating peace talks. We'll also look at how some people perceive the US to be biassed towards Israel, which hinders diplomatic attempts.

We'll go over the specifics of the attack on the US base, as well as the message of sympathy with Palestine and its consequences for the Middle East. Given the existing tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, this act of aggression has far-reaching regional implications, aggravating an already volatile region. The worldwide response to the incident, including condemnations from the United governments, the European Union, and individual governments, will be discussed. We'll also talk about Israel's concerns and its need for international assistance.

Diplomatic attempts to defuse tensions and find a peaceful solution to the problem will be emphasized. We will emphasize the importance of taking a comprehensive strategy to addressing interrelated conflicts, as well as the role of non-state actors in the region. In addition, in the middle of these geopolitical issues, we will emphasize the relevance of humanitarian concerns. Millions of innocent people are suffering in Yemen and Palestine, and their voices should not be silenced by politics."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Hindustan Times, 12/22/23

"'Want Direct War With U.S.': Houthi Chief's Big 

Declaration Against America Amid Red Sea Tensions"

"A Houthi Leader has threatened the U.S. and said that the militant group will directly attack American warships. Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said they would strike "American interests" and "American maritime traffic". The group has also demanded a "direct confrontation" with the United States. This comes after the U.S. formulated a multinational task force to deter Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Scott Ritter, "Geopolitical Round Table"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 12/22/23

"Intel Roundtable: 

2023: A Year of Intelligence Failures"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

"Americans Are 'Dreading The Holidays' -

1 In 3 Go Into Debt To Pay For Holiday Shopping"

Dan, I Allegedly, "Crazy 2024 Economic Predictions"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly AM 12/22/23

"Crazy 2024 Economic Predictions"

We’ve got some crazy economic predictions for 2024. Plus, we’re going to cover the latest cyber attack. Now one of the largest insurance companies in the world gets hit.

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"'This Is Off The Charts': Economist Claims 2024 

Will Bring 'Biggest Crash Of Our Lifetime' In US"

Jim Kunstler, "Whatever It Takes Won’t Be Enough"

"Whatever It Takes Won’t Be Enough"

By Jim Kunstler

“Like many people, I assumed every impeachment, every indictment, every criminal count would be the end of him.” -  Robert B. Reich, celebrated Trump hunter, career summation.

"And just like that - snap ! - the news about the Colorado Supreme Court’s droll action against candidate DJ Trump vanished from the front page (or top screens) of The New York Times. Do you know why? I’ll tell you: Because the political Left has finally managed to embarrass itself with a “lawfare” gambit so nakedly fatuous that it exposes the faction’s drive to destroy the election process, and with it our country.

This is what you get from a regime that faked its way to power and now must strain to cover up its long train of crimes, abuses, and effronteries to common sense, while running out of tricks to keep fooling even its own deranged followers. Somehow, the act of kicking a leading candidate off the ballot has finally registered as inconsistent with “defending our democracy.”

Of course, the reckless abuse of law - “lawfare” - proceeds from the Left’s disrespect for boundaries and limits, which is exactly what law in principle concerns itself with. And from there it’s a quick leap into totalizing bad faith, the operating system for government under an imposter president, “Joe Biden.” Suddenly, mere days before Christmas, when the people want to be preoccupied with things other than politics, events merge explosively to shape the fate of the nation.

In a sane world, the US Supreme Court would not just summarily strike down the Colorado ruling, but would issue a career-ending rebuke to the brain-damaged state justices who managed to not learn a basic principle of due process: innocent until proven guilty - that to brand someone a criminal, there must be a record of indictment and conviction for a particular crime, and that, in the case of Mr. Trump, a politically-motived fairy tale about an “insurrection” doesn’t cut it.

Also, in a sane world interested in truth and justice, the Republican-majority Congress would have months ago convened new hearings about the Jan 6/21 Capitol riot to undo the manifold perfidious frauds instigated by the previous Democrat-majority committee under Chairman Bennie Thompson. By now, testimony should have been compelled from Nancy Pelosi, the then Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, and former Defense Secretary Chris Miller about Ms. Pelosi’s refusal to call in national guard troops to reinforce security around the building, and to answer for the odd behavior of the Capitol Police, such as opening doors for the mob and then serving as ushers to show off the place. It seems obvious that many elected Republicans also have an interest in supporting the Jan 6/21 “insurrection” fairy tale. Do you still wonder why the evil entity infesting Washington is called “the blob?”

The Substack blogger who styles himself as El Gato Malo offers the alluring theory that a SCOTUS ruling on whether the 14th Amendment clauses applies to the presidency in the Colorado case, could enable Special Counsel Jack Smith to slip-in a superseding indictment (replacing the original indictment) in his DC Jan 6 case against Mr. Trump with new insurrection / rebellion charges, thus setting-up a fortified argument for states to chuck Mr. Trump off any ballot. More “lawfare,” you see. Whatever it takes...!

More curiously even, we learn today, that an amicus brief has been filed in the SCOTUS by former Attorney General Ed Meese (under Ronald Reagan), and two constitutional law professors, Steven Calabresi and Gary S. Lawson challenging the legality altogether of Jack Smith’s appointment as special counsel for prosecuting Mr. Trump. The amicus is filed in the matter of Jack Smith’s certiorari petition to the court to schedule Mr. Trump’s DC trial the same day as the Super Tuesday primary  - against the defendant’s objections. The amicus presents compelling arguments that Attorney General Merrick Garland acted illegally in appointing Mr. Smith, and if SCOTUS chucks him out of the special counsel job, the whole mendaciously constructed scaffold of the Jan 6 prosecution goes out the window, along with the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

Those of you with a deep interest in blob lawfare treachery may also be interested in the courtroom win, this week, by Brandon Straka, who launched the 2018 “Walk Away” movement to persuade gays to leave the Democratic Party. He was present on the US Capitol grounds the day of the Jan 6/21 riot, and was later sued by eight “black and brown” Capitol Police officers, with the help of a Soros-funded nonprofit law firm, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Straka was accused of causing the officers’ injuries (pepper spray and “exhaustion”) and of conspiring to deprive them of their civil rights (under the KKK Act of 1871). It came out in the course of testimony that seven of the officers were on the other side of the enormous Capitol building from Mr. Straka’s position the entire time alleged, and that one of the officers was not even present at the Capitol or even in the District of Columbia at the time. Such are the sordid dreams of lawfare warriors and their useful idiots...

Next up, as we turn the corner into a fateful 2024 - and lately eclipsed by all these lawfare election interference shenanigans - will be the perhaps even more consequential hearings on the Biden family’s extensive international bribery operations, which may shed some light on how come we suffer a president and a party bent on destroying our country."

- https://kunstler.com/

Oh yeah, the full title of Kunstler's website really does say it all...

Adventures With Danno, "Be Ready For This! They Are Listening!"

Adventures With Danno, AM 12/22/23

"Be Ready For This! They Are Listening!"

"We discuss how we have to be mindful of what's going on and be cautious of everything we talk about that you don't want others to know. The "smart" devices are listening."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Global Supply Chains Deteriorate As Malaysia Blocks All Israeli Vessels And Cargo From Using Its Ports"

"Global Supply Chains Deteriorate As Malaysia Blocks 

All Israeli Vessels And Cargo From Using Its Ports"

By Mike Adams

"Let's talk about the news out of Malaysia. So of course, you know, the situation with Israel and Gaza, and Israel continues its outrageously illegal, and anti-human bombing campaign of Gaza, killing tens of thousands of civilians who are not Hamas. While Israel claims that this is self defense, defending themselves by dropping 50,000 tons of bombs on apartment buildings and hospitals and refugee camps and so on. And this continues to this day, it's unbelievable. I mean, this is straight up ethnic cleansing. Some people call it genocide, and it's hard to argue with that.

Malaysia has now not only banned Israeli flagged ships from docking at any of its ports, but also, it won't allow any ship to dock if it has any cargo that is going to or from Israel. In other words, Israel can no longer ship any cargo on any ocean vessel that expects to have to dock in any of the ports of Malaysia. And because those are really important shipping waters around Malaysia and Singapore, and you know, the whole peninsula there, this is another big deal.

Note also that, of course, six of the largest ocean transport carriers have now banned their ships from going through the Red Sea which is on route to the Suez Canal to get to the Mediterranean. That's because of the Yemeni rebels, the Houthis, as they're called, that are firing short range rockets and using drones to attack some of the cargo vessels there. As we've covered recently, the insurance companies pulled their insurance for these vessels. And then these shipping giants said, Well, without insurance, we can't run ships through the Red Sea. So these giant cargo ships are having to divert around the southern tip of the continent of Africa, going into some very rough waters, by the way, with a lot more treacherous conditions there, with all this cargo on board being subjected to more temperature variations and humidity variations, and also rough seas. I mean, it's tearing up the cargo. And it takes an extra two to three weeks to do that.

Global supply chain rapidly deteriorating: So now the supply chain, globally, is taking a big hit. Not only because of the Houthis, but now also because of Malaysia. And here's the question, you know, Malaysia is almost two thirds Muslim, I believe. Wonderful people in Malaysia, by the way, beautiful people. The time that I was in Malaysia, I had a fantastic visit. I was in Kuala Lumpur, KL, which I'm pretty sure that's the capital of Malaysia. And I loved visiting Malaysia, great people. But again, about two thirds Muslim, and they don't want to just sit there and watch Israel just commit genocide against the Palestinian people who are mostly Muslim. There are plenty of Christian Palestinians as well and Christian Gazans and there are Catholics there and so on.

So there's been a lot of pressure from the Malaysian people to force the Malaysian government to target Israel's shipping lanes, or shipping infrastructure. And that's exactly what just happened. So the Prime Minister of Malaysia, and this is quoted in Al Jazeera says that Israel's actions violate international law through the ongoing massacre and brutality against Palestinians. So the prime minister Anwar Ibrahim announces this decision, is going to impose a maritime ban on all Israel affiliated vessels, specifically targeting Zim, which is the largest shipping firm out of Israel, and ships on their way to Israel will also be barred from loading cargo at any port in Malaysia, effective immediately.

Now, there's also rumor that Indonesia may join this action, and also ban Israeli vessels because Indonesia is also of course, primarily a Muslim populated country. And in case you're not recalling the geography of the region, Malaysia, and Indonesia, they sit at the gateway between Southeast Asia, you know, China, Vietnam, and all the way to Taiwan and Japan and so on, including the Philippines, the gateway between those countries, to the Indian Ocean, and the Middle East. So the ships that are transporting goods from Asia exporting things, let's say from from China, or from Vietnam, or South Korea or Taiwan or wherever those ships traverse through the waters getting to Malaysia and Indonesia and they often stop there.

They load and unload containers. Because sometimes, you know, containers are only going to Malaysia, and then Thailand is right there and Cambodia and of course, Singapore, they're at the tip of the southern tip of, or just south of Malaysia. So, and this is going to have a huge impact actually, on trade between the Middle East, including Israel, and Southeast Asia, it's going to cause another disruption on top of the disruption of the Red Sea, which is already in place because of the Houthies attacking the ships there.

So the question is then what kind of extra steps and extra costs do these ships have to go through now to traverse the waters that are becoming increasingly dangerous, and now fewer ports are available to them, which matters not only for logistics, and refueling and so on, but also in cases of storms. You know, if a storm is approaching in a certain direction, or if there's some kind of ocean event, you might need to anchor off a port near Malaysia, you might need to traverse a certain area. And as Israel continues its bombing campaign of civilians in Gaza, you can imagine that these Muslim dominated countries are just going to become more and more assertive in blocking off anything associated with Israel, which is really quite understandable. Because Israel is carrying out these horrific crimes against humanity.

If you're a country that has a lot of Muslims, why on earth would you want to support Israel? A nation that is murdering your brothers and sisters, so to speak, in Gaza? And I know I'm not saying all Muslims are brothers and sisters in so many different religions and different ways of practicing Islam and so on. But there's still a general idea of sharing fate. And when Muslim countries see the horrific actions being taken by Israel are, in particular, the Zionist globalists that are currently in charge of Israel. But modern day present day Malaysia doesn't want to help enable Israel to support its economy or to support its trade, which would ultimately support its war on Gaza. So that's where this is coming from.

Israeli real estate company already trying to sell beach front real estate in the middle of bombed-out Gaza: By the way, the the horrors of what's going on in Israel really came to light here in a story that was on common dreams.org. The title: Cashing in on genocide, Israeli firm pitches beachfront real estate in leveled Gaza. So they're actually advertising property development on the beach front of Gaza. And they say a house on the beach is not a dream. This is an advertisement from a company that builds in the occupied West Bank, according to this article. Palestine defenders this week condemned a proposal by an Israeli real estate developer specializing in the construction of illegal settlements to build beachfront homes for Jewish colonists over the bombed out ruins of Gaza. I'm reading from the article.

Now, you know, obviously, some of that language is from the point of view of Palestine. A house on the beach is not a dream. It drew international attention. Following last week's practical preparation for Gaza settlement conference in Tel Aviv, is an ad that depicts an artist's rendering of luxury homes superimposed over an actual photograph of a Gaza neighborhood destroyed by Israeli bombs, which have killed nearly 20,000 people. So I want to show you this photo, which has been called ethnic cleansing, and this is this is some sick profiteering right on top of the graves of bombed out women and children in Gaza.

So you see that they've sketched these like luxury beachfront apartments like right on top of all the bombed out Gaza buildings. I mean, if you ever wondered why Israel was carpet bombing Gaza and using bulldozers to clear it out, it's because they want the real estate. And also they want the real estate because they want the energy that is associated with Gaza right off shore, and they probably want to build that Ben Gurion canal so that they don't depend on the Suez Canal. This is some sick stuff. I mean, they probably still haven't even found all the dead children. Yet. It's probably children buried under the rubble in this photo. And Israeli real estate developers sitting there saying, oh, yeah, you can, you can have luxury beachfront apartments. As soon as we scrape off all of the Palestinian dead bodies, you can build this way, isn't that wonderful? Because that's the way a lot of Israelis think about Palestinians that you should just bomb them and kill them and replace them and build your place and boom, and now it's Israel, Greater Israel. I mean, this is some sick, twisted anti-human stuff going on here.

So there's a group out there called Jewish Voice for Peace that tweeted about this. It says, quote, just as the Israeli government was crystal clear in its plans to commit genocide, the Israeli government's post genocide colonization strategy is explicit, and blatant, and a war crime. We can stop this, don't look away, all eyes on Palestine..."

- https://www.naturalnews.com/

o

• "What Motivates Israel’s Genocidal Acts in Gaza?"

• "Meet the Companies Profiting From Israel's War on Gaza"

o

Stipendium peccati mors est, Israel...

Canadian Prepper, "Alert! Hackers Warning: 'It's Worse Than People Can Imagine'"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 12/21/23

"Alert! Hackers Warning: 'It's Worse Than People

 Can Imagine'; Nationwide Cyberattack"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Scott Ritter, "The US Would Lose A War With Iran And Yemen"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 12/21/23

Scott Ritter, "The US Would Lose A War With Iran And Yemen"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Food Shortage Report and Grocery Items Going Up In Price!"

Adventures With Danno, PM 12/21/23

"Food Shortage Report and

 Grocery Items Going Up In Price!"

"Food shortage report for winter and grocery items that are set to skyrocket in early 2024! Get your notepad ready, and this seems to be getting worse each week!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Gerald Celente, Trends In The News, 12/21/23"

Strong Language Alert!

"Gerald Celente, Trends In The News, 12/21/23"

"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/

Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Au Fil de L'eau"

Full screen recommended.

Deuter, "Au Fil de L'eau"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"The Horsehead Nebula is one of the most famous nebulae on the sky. It is visible as the dark indentation to the orange emission nebula at the far right of the featured picture. The horse-head feature is dark because it is really an opaque dust cloud that lies in front of the bright emission nebula. Like clouds in Earth's atmosphere, this cosmic cloud has assumed a recognizable shape by chance. After many thousands of years, the internal motions of the cloud will surely alter its appearance. 

The emission nebula's orange color is caused by electrons recombining with protons to form hydrogen atoms. Toward the lower left of the image is the Flame Nebula, an orange-tinged nebula that also contains intricate filaments of dark dust. Two prominent reflection nebulas are visible: round IC 432 on the far left, and blue NGC 2023 just to the lower left of the Horsehead nebula. Each glows primarily by reflecting the light of their central star."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211103.html

The Poet: Matthew Schwartz, "Ex Obscurum, Adagio for Strings, Op. 11"

Full screen recommended.

"Ex Obscurum, Adagio for Strings, Op. 11"

"From emotional turmoil, hatred, and addiction the miracle of recovery begins in this Spadecaller Video entitled "Ex Obscurum" (From Darkness). Featuring original poetry narrated by the author and visual artist, Matthew Schwartz. Composer Samuel Barber's powerful musical score, adopted for the movie "Platoon", (Adagio for Strings) sets the background for this spiritual exodus "From Darkness."

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Woodbine, Maryland, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The True Dream..."

"Maybe we accept the dream has become a nightmare. We tell ourselves that reality is better. We convince ourselves it's better that we never dream at all. But, the strongest of us, the most determined of us, holds on to the dream or we find ourselves faced with a fresh dream we never considered. We wake to find ourselves, against all odds... feeling hopeful. And, if we're lucky, we realize in the face of everything, in the face of life - the true dream is being able to dream at all."

- "Dr. Meredith Grey", "Grey's Anatomy"

“I Can’t Wait For the Day When Life Finally Makes Sense”

“I Can’t Wait For the Day 

When Life Finally Makes Sense”

by Rania Naim

“I can’t wait for the day when life finally makes sense, when we find the silver lining in every tragedy, when we learn the lesson from each mistake and when we understand why our hearts needed to get broken a few times to let love in.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand why we met the right people at the wrong time or the wrong people at the right time and why our lives didn’t align to bring us together. I wonder if it’s because they’re the wrong ones for us or because we still have a lot of growing up to do and we’re meant to be with someone who understand who we’re becoming not who we were.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand the lesson behind every struggle. Why we struggled to be successful, why we struggled to find love, why we struggled to reach our dreams and why we lost people who meant the world to us. I wonder if we needed these lessons to learn how to appreciate life and feel the pain of others or we just needed to learn that there is no living without suffering.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand why we had to hate ourselves to love ourselves, why we had to destroy ourselves to build ourselves up again and why we had to start over just before we got to the finish line. I wonder who saved us or who inspired us to save ourselves.

I wonder if we are meant to be reborn a few times so we can learn how to truly live. I want to know what triggered us to change and how we can no longer recognize who we used to be.

I can’t wait for the day that we understand why we keep falling for the wrong ones over and over again, why we can’t forget those who hurt us and why we sometimes can still forgive them and take them back. I want to understand how our hearts operate, how they function, how they move us to do things we would never do and lead us to places that we know we shouldn’t go to. I’m curious to know why we listen to it, why we follow it blindly like it never got us lost before, why we trust it even though it left us broken and why do we always go back to it for questions when it keeps giving us the wrong answers. I wonder if there will come a day when we stop listening to it and if we’ll ever be truly alive without it.

They say everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that, but I also want to know what this reason is and why it chose us. Why some reasons keep recurring and why some reasons leave us even more perplexed. I want to understand why we go through certain things, what’s the message behind it and what if we never respond to this message, what if we just ignore it and keep living, what will happen then? Will our lives get lost in translation?

I can’t wait for the day that life makes sense – some days I understand why certain things happened and others I’m not so sure, but all I know is that somehow we’ll connect the dots and someday we’ll complete the puzzle, until then, we have to learn how to live our lives without trying to understand it and we have to learn how to be comfortable with the irony and uncertainty of life; otherwise we’ll lose our common sense trying to make sense of the life we’re living.”

- http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "Your Credit Cards Are About To Close"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly AM 12/21/23

"Your Credit Cards Are About To Close"

"With the latest legislation from the consumer financial protection bureau, you’re about to see millions of people lose their credit cards in the coming months. Plus did you know that Rite Aid was watching us via face recognition?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"How It Really Is"

"It's A Mess, Ain't It?"

Deputy Wendell: "It's a mess, ain't it, sheriff?"

Sheriff Bell: "If it ain't, it'll do till the mess gets here."

- "No Country For Old Men"

Oh, the mess is here alright. Look around, everywhere...

Full screen recommended.

"Network", "Mad As Hell"

"Death And Destruction In Gaza"

Full screen recommended.

"John Mearsheimer: 

Israel Is Choosing 'Apartheid' Or 'Ethnic Cleansing'

"Death And Destruction In Gaza" 

By Portfolio Armor

"The Man Who Predicted The Ukraine War Weighs In: Readers may recall that in 2015, Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago presciently predicted Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Several years prior to that, Mearsheimer garnered attention for a controversial book he co-wrote called The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. This month, he turned his attention back to Israel, condemning its military operation in Gaza. We have posted Mearsheimer's piece on Israel below; following that, we have a journalist's explanation of the Israeli perspective on the Gaza operation. And then we'll close with a note about how Powell's pivot seems to be driving the market more than concern about the Mideast conflict, with an update on how that has impacted our system's security selection.

We'll start with Mearsheimer: "I do not believe that anything I say about what is happening in Gaza will affect Israeli or American policy in that conflict. But I want to be on record so that when historians look back on this moral calamity, they will see that some Americans were on the right side of history.

What Israel is doing in Gaza to the Palestinian civilian population – with the support of the Biden administration – is a crime against humanity that serves no meaningful military purpose. As J-Street, an important organization in the Israel lobby, puts it, “The scope of the unfolding humanitarian disaster and civilian casualties is nearly unfathomable.”[1] Let me elaborate.

First, Israel is purposely massacring huge number of civilians, roughly 70 percent of whom are children and women. The claim that Israel is going to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties is belied by statements from high level Israeli officials. For example, the IDF spokesman said on 10 October 2023 that “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy.” That same day, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced: “I have lowered all the restraints – we will kill everyone we fight against; we will use every means.”[2]

Moreover, it is clear from the results of the bombing campaign that Israel is indiscriminately killing civilians. Two detailed studies of the IDF’s bombing campaign – both published in Israeli outlets – explain in detail how Israel is murdering huge numbers of civilians. It is worth quoting the titles of the two pieces, which succinctly capture what each has to say:

• “‘A Mass Assassination Factory’: Inside Israel’s Calculated Bombing of Gaza”[3]

• “The Israeli Army Has Dropped the Restraint in Gaza, and the Data Shows Unprecedented Killing.”[4]

Similarly, the New York Times published an article in late November 2023 titled: “Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace.”[5] Thus, it is hardly surprising that the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said that “We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since” his appointment in January 2017.[6]

Second, Israel is purposely starving the desperate Palestinian population by greatly limiting the amount of food, fuel, cooking gas, medicine, and water that can be brought into Gaza. Moreover, medical care is extremely hard to come by for a population that now includes approximately 50,000 wounded civilians. Not only has Israel greatly limited the supply of fuel into Gaza, which hospitals need to function, but it has targeted hospitals, ambulances, and first aid stations.

Defense Minister Gallant’s comment on 9 October captures Israeli policy: “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.”[7] Israel has been forced to allow minimal supplies into Gaza, but the amounts are so small that a senior UN official reports that “half of Gaza’s population is starving.” He goes on to report that, “Nine out of 10 families in some areas are spending ‘a full day and night without any food at all’.”[8]

Third, Israeli leaders talk about Palestinians and what they would like to do in Gaza in shocking terms, especially when you consider that some of these leaders also talk incessantly about the horrors of the Holocaust. Indeed, their rhetoric has led Omar Bartov, a prominent Israeli-born scholar of the Holocaust, to conclude that Israel has “genocidal intent.”[9]

Other scholars in Holocaust and genocide studies have offered a similar warning.[10] To be more specific, it is commonplace for Israeli leaders to refer to Palestinians as “human animals, ”human beasts,” and “horrible inhuman animals.”[11] And as Israeli President Isaac Herzog makes clear, those leaders are referring to all Palestinians, not just Hamas: In his words, “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible.”[12] Unsurprisingly, as the New York Times reports, it is part of normal Israeli discourse to call for Gaza to be “flattened,” “erased,” or “destroyed.”[13] One retired IDF general, who proclaimed that “Gaza will become a place where no human being can exist,” also makes the case that “severe epidemics in the south of the Gaza Strip will bring victory closer.”[14]

Going even further, a minister in the Israeli government suggested dropping a nuclear weapon on Gaza.[15] These statements are not being made by isolated extremists, but by senior members of Israel’s government.

Of course, there is also much talk of ethnically cleansing Gaza (and the West Bank), in effect, producing another Nakba.[16] To quote Israel’s Agriculture Minister, “We are now rolling out the Gaza Nakba.”[17]Perhaps the most shocking evidence of the depths to which Israeli society has sunk is a video of very young children singing a blood-curdling song celebrating Israel’s destruction of Gaza: “Within a year we will annihilate everyone, and then we will return to plow our fields.”[18]

Fourth, Israel is not just killing, wounding, and starving huge numbers of Palestinians, it is also systematically destroying their homes as well as critical infrastructure – to include mosques, schools, heritage sites, libraries, key government buildings, and hospitals.[19]

As of 1 December 2023, the IDF had damaged or destroyed almost 100,000 buildings, including entire neighborhoods that have been reduced to rubble.[20] Consequently, a stunning 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes.[21] Moreover, Israel is making a concerted effort to destroy Gaza’s cultural heritage; as NPR reports, “more than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks.”[22]

Fifth, Israel is not just terrorizing and killing Palestinians, it is also publicly humiliating many of their men who have been rounded up by the IDF in routine searches. Israeli soldiers strip them down to their underwear, blindfold them, and display them in a public way in their neighborhoods – sitting them down in large groups in the middle of the street, for example, or parading them through the streets – before taking them away in trucks to detention camps. In most cases, the detainees are then released as they are not Hamas fighters.[23]

Sixth, although the Israelis are doing the slaughtering, they could not do it without the Biden administration’s support. Not only was the United States the only country to vote against a recent UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but it has also been providing Israel with the weaponry necessary to wage this massacre.[24] As one Israeli general (Yitzhak Brick) recently made clear: “All of our missiles, the ammunition, the precision-guided bombs, all the airplanes and bombs, it’s all from the U.S. The minute they turn off the tap, you can’t keep fighting. You have no capability. Everyone understands that we can’t fight this war without the United States. Period.”[25] Remarkably, the Biden administration has sought to expedite sending Israel additional ammunition, by-passing the normal procedures of the Arms Export Control Act.[26]

Seventh, while most of the focus is now on Gaza, it is important not to lose sight of what is simultaneously going on in the West Bank. Israeli settlers, working closely with the IDF, continue to kill innocent Palestinians and steal their land. In an excellent article in the New York Review of Books describing these horrors, David Shulman relates a conversation he had with a settler, which clearly reflects the moral dimension of Israeli behavior toward the Palestinians. “What we are doing to these people is actually inhuman,” the settler freely admits, “But if you think about it clearly, it all follows inevitably from the fact that God promised this land to the Jews, and only to them.”[27] Along with its assault on Gaza, the Israel government has markedly increased the number of arbitrary arrests in the West Bank. According to Amnesty International, there is considerable evidence that these prisoners have been tortured and subjected to degrading treatment.[28]

As I watch this catastrophe for the Palestinians unfold, I am left with one simple question for Israel’s leaders, their American defenders, and the Biden administration: have you no decency?"

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

o

"Hamas Rejects Israeli Offer For 7-Day Truce 

As Reported Gaza Death Toll Reaches 20,000"

o

That's your hand, Good American. That's my hand. That's all our hands for allowing and supporting this absolute horror. That's who we are, what we are. 20,000 people... old, women and 7,000 children killed. Remember that as you proudly wave your little Israeli flags... - CP

Bill Bonner, "Gods, Demons and Politicians"

Fresco by Johann Michael Rottmayr

"Gods, Demons and Politicians"

And between them all, ordinary, hard-working people...

By Bill Bonner

"We have come to tell you that not only are 

the politicians not God; they are the cause of our problems."

~ Javier Milei, Argentine President, yesterday.

Baltimore, Maryland - "On Monday and again on Tuesday, stocks hit new highs. On Wednesday, they were still in the green until late in the day. Then, suddenly, they began to go straight down. Markets insider: "Dow tumbles 476 points as recession fears snap the stock market's winning streak. US stocks plunged on Wednesday as investors weighed the odds of recession and reined in their enthusiasm for expected rate cuts."

Forbes adds: "Shares of FedEx tanked Wednesday after a declining sales forecast delivered during the firm’s earnings report disappointed investors, causing red-hot stock indexes to slide as FedEx’s results revealed potentially worrisome signs for broader consumer spending habits. Investors may have been expecting clear sailing, after the Fed announced its ‘sort of’ pivot. They should look out the window."

An Ugly Vista: More and more student loans are falling into arrears…more Americans say they skip meals to keep up with bills…credit card debt hit a new $1.3 trillion high (with 20% interest!)…Car payment defaults haven’t been this high since the last century; more and more people are working two jobs to keep up with the cost of living.

And Fedex is not just another company. It’s the company that delivers the goods. If its sales and profits are going down, it means that there are fewer goods being delivered…which means, the economy is slowing down.

In the meantime, the risk of a crisis is high. There is more than $300 trillion of debt outstanding in the world…now being rolled over at rates that are 2 to 5 times higher than they were a couple years ago.

Here’s Harry Dent: "Since 2009, this has been 100% artificial, unprecedented money printing and deficits; $27 trillion over 15 years, to be exact. This is off the charts, 100% artificial, which means we're in a dangerous state…I think 2024 is going to be the biggest single crash year we'll see in our lifetimes."

Maybe. Only the gods know. And they’re not talking. In today’s $107 trillion world economy, nobody can predict or control what will happen. All we can do is to study the patterns of history….and guess. But let us try to dive down…beneath the surface chop…to the deep currents below. We have promised to explore the dark regions of ‘megapoiltics’ to find out what is really going on. So, we put on our facemask and flippers…and plunge into the cold water.

The Pretense of Knowledge: The US Federal Reserve pretends to know exactly – within a quarter of a point – what the nation’s key lending rate should be…and is even able to tell us what future rate moves will be necessary to get there. And though it has demonstrated over and over that it is operating far above its pay grade, it keeps at it. The problem, as Milei puts it, is not the chef. Fed governors are not dumb. It’s the recipe. ‘It’s the idea that a group of bureaucrats in an office can plan the lives of millions of human beings,’ Milei explained yesterday.

And the remarkable thing is that no one seems to question it. Why do we have a Fed? Why does it prefer rates that turn out to be too low rather than too high? Nor does anyone particularly care that these geniuses are managing trillions of dollars’ worth of money that is not their own…and that this self-same money is fraudulent. While it is impossible to know exactly ‘why’ any of these things are so, down in megapolitics we find ‘reasons’ that at least sound plausible.

Every society, since the days of the Sumerians and human sacrifices, sorts itself into an elite – an aristocracy, a priesthood, a ruling class – and everyone else. As time goes by these elites – almost by definition; they are capable, well-informed and intelligent – find ways to improve their status and add to their wealth. That’s the process that Milei is trying to unwind in Argentina. The ‘political caste,’ as he calls it, has strangled the real economy in order to give itself special privileges and benefits. Here, you can watch the opening to his speech, yesterday, in which he strikes at the root of the problem. (Click here to view video.)

Show Us The Money: Voters don’t like taxes. Investors don’t like lending to a bankrupt government. So, the simplest way for an elite to take power and money from ‘the people,’ in a modern democracy, is to diddle the money. “I don’t care who makes the laws,” said a shrewd Rothschild,” just give me control of the money.”

In that regard, America’s post-1971 money system was a big step forward – for the elites. Thenceforth, the wages of ‘The People’ remained stable. But the wealth of the upper classes – those who owned the ‘means of production’ – rose steeply. The Wilshire 5000 stock index, for example, of which the common man owned little, rose about 20 times. (The Wall Street Journal reports that equity ownership in the US is at an all-time high. Still, for the average person stock market gains are dwarfed by income from working.)

For the average working man, almost everything went up in price – except the real value of his major asset: his time. So, he had to spend more time to get the basics in life. Before the money switcheroo, he had to labor for about 4 years to buy a house, for example. Today, it will cost him more than 8 years of labor. House prices have gone way up over the last 50 years – gaining more than $30 trillion in value. ‘The People’ may not own stocks, but they own houses. Alas, most of that gain too – about ¾ of it – went to the elites.

In other words, the ‘recipe’ worked for some…but not for all. The ‘political caste,’ got fat and happy. Milei is trying to put them on a diet. But for America’s elite, it’s still ‘all you can eat’... 24/7. More to come…"

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Outrageous Prices At Kroger! Saving On What We Can"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 12/21/23

"Outrageous Prices At Kroger! 

Saving On What We Can!"

"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and continue to see very high prices on groceries. We go throughout the store, pointing out whatever decent deals we come across. It's getting harder to afford groceries with these prices continuing to rise!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"Self-Checkout Kiosks At 4,500 Walmarts Now

 Offer 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Loans For Basic Items"