Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Dmitry Orlov, ”The 5 Stages of Economic Collapse”

”The 5 Stages of Economic Collapse” 
by Dmitry Orlov

“Elizabeth Kübler-Ross defined the five stages of coming to terms with grief and tragedy as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, and applied it quite successfully to various forms of catastrophic personal loss, such as death of a loved one, sudden end to one’s career, and so forth. Several thinkers, notably James Howard Kunstler and, more recently John Michael Greer, have pointed out that the Kübler-Ross model is also quite terrifyingly accurate in reflecting the process by which society as a whole (or at least the informed and thinking parts of it) is reconciling itself to the inevitability of a discontinuous future, with our institutions and life support systems undermined by a combination of resource depletion, catastrophic climate change, and political impotence.

But so far, little has been said specifically about the finer structure of these discontinuities. Instead, there is to be found continuum of subjective judgments, ranging from “a severe and prolonged recession” (the prediction we most often read in the financial press), to Kunstler’s evocative but unscientific-sounding “clusterf**k,” to the ever-popular “Collapse of Western Civilization,” painted with an ever-wider brush-stroke.

For those of us who have already gone through all of the emotional stages of reconciling ourselves to the prospect of social and economic upheaval, it might be helpful to have a more precise terminology that goes beyond such emotionally charged phrases. Defining a taxonomy of collapses might prove to be more than just an intellectual exercise: based on our abilities and circumstances, some of us may be able to specifically plan for a certain stage of collapse as a temporary, or even permanent, stopping point.

Even if society at the current stage of socioeconomic complexity will no longer be possible, and even if, as Tainter points in his “Collapse of Complex Societies,” there are circumstances in which collapse happens to be the correct adaptive response, it need not automatically cause a population crash, with the survivors disbanding into solitary, feral humans dispersed in the wilderness and subsisting miserably. Collapse can be conceived of as an orderly, organized retreat rather than a rout.

For instance, the collapse of the Soviet Union – our most recent and my personal favorite example of an imperial collapse – did not reach the point of political disintegration of the republics that made it up, although some of them (Georgia, Moldova) did lose some territory to separatist movements. And although most of the economy shut down for a time, many institutions, including the military, public utilities, and public transportation, continued to function throughout. And although there was much social dislocation and suffering, society as a whole did not collapse, because most of the population did not lose access to food, housing, medicine, or any of the other survival necessities. The command-and-control structure of the Soviet economy largely decoupled the necessities of daily life from any element of market psychology, associating them instead with physical flows of energy and physical access to resources. Thus situation, as I argue in my forthcoming book, Reinventing Collapse, allowed the Soviet population to inadvertently achieve a greater level of collapse-preparedness than is currently possible in the United States.

Having given a lot of thought to both the differences and the similarities between the two superpowers – the one that has collapsed already, and the one that is collapsing as I write this – I feel ready to attempt a bold conjecture, and define five stages of collapse, to serve as mental milestones as we gauge our own collapse-preparedness and see what can be done to improve it.

Rather than tying each phase to a particular emotion, as in the Kübler-Ross model, the proposed taxonomy ties each of the five collapse stages to the breaching of a specific level of trust, or faith, in the status quo. Although each stage causes physical, observable changes in the environment, these can be gradual, while the mental flip is generally quite swift. It is something of a cultural universal that nobody (but a real fool) wants to be the last fool to believe in a lie.

Stages of Collapse:

Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in “business as usual” is lost. The future is no longer assumed resemble the past in any way that allows risk to be assessed and financial assets to be guaranteed. Financial institutions become insolvent; savings are wiped out, and access to capital is lost.

Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that “the market shall provide” is lost. Money is devalued and/or becomes scarce, commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread shortages of survival necessities become the norm.

Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that “the government will take care of you” is lost. As official attempts to mitigate widespread loss of access to commercial sources of survival necessities fail to make a difference, the political establishment loses legitimacy and relevance.

Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that “your people will take care of you” is lost. As local social institutions, be they charities, community leaders, or other groups that rush in to fill the power vacuum, run out of resources or fail through internal conflict.

Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in the goodness of humanity is lost. People lose their capacity for “kindness, generosity, consideration, affection, honesty, hospitality, compassion, charity” (Turnbull, "The Mountain People"). Families disband and compete as individuals for scarce resources. The new motto becomes “May you die today so that I die tomorrow” (Solzhenitsyn, "The Gulag Archipelago"). There may even be some cannibalism.

Although many people imagine collapse to be a sort of elevator that goes to the sub-basement (our Stage 5) no matter which button you push, no such automatic mechanism can be discerned. Rather, driving us all to Stage 5 will require that a concerted effort be made at each of the intervening stages. That all the players seem poised to make just such an effort may give this collapse the form a classical tragedy – a conscious but inexorable march to perdition – rather than a farce (“Oops! Ah, here we are, Stage 5.” – “So, whom do we eat first?” – “Me! I am delicious!”) Let us sketch out this process.

Financial collapse, as we are are currently observing it, consists of two parts. One is that a part of the general population is forced to move, no longer able to afford the house they bought based on inflated assessments, forged income numbers, and foolish expectations of endless asset inflation. Since, technically, they should never have been allowed to buy these houses, and were only able to do so because of financial and political malfeasance, this is actually a healthy development. The second part consists of men in expensive suits tossing bundles of suddenly worthless paper up in the air, ripping out their remaining hair, and (some of us might uncharitably hope) setting themselves on fire on the steps of the Federal Reserve. They, to express it in their own vernacular, “f**ked up,” and so this is also just as it should be.

The government response to this could be to offer some helpful homilies about “the wages of sin” and to open a few soup kitchens and flop houses in a variety of locations including Wall Street. The message would be: “You former debt addicts and gamblers, as you say, ‘f****d up,’ and so this will really hurt for a long time. We will never let you anywhere near big money again. Get yourselves over to the soup kitchen, and bring your own bowl, because we don’t do dishes.” This would result in a stable Stage 1 collapse – the Second Great Depression.

However, this is unlikely, because in the US the government happens to be debt addict and gambler number one. As individuals, we may have been as virtuous as we wished, but the government will have still run up exorbitant debts on our behalf. Every level of government, from local municipalities and authorities, which need the financial markets to finance their public works and public services, to the federal government, which relies on foreign investment to finance its endless wars, is addicted to public debt. They know they cannot stop borrowing, and so they will do anything they can to keep the game going for as long as possible.

About the only thing the government currently seems it fit to do is extend further credit to those in trouble, by setting interest rates at far below inflation, by accepting worthless bits of paper as collateral and by pumping money into insolvent financial institutions. This has the effect of diluting the dollar, further undermining its value, and will, in due course, lead to hyperinflation, which is bad enough in any economy, but is especially serious for one dominated by imports. As imports dry up and the associated parts of the economy shut down, we pass Stage 2: Commercial Collapse.

As businesses shut down, storefronts are boarded up and the population is left largely penniless and dependent on FEMA and charity for survival, the government may consider what to do next. It could, for example, repatriate all foreign troops and set them to work on public works projects designed to directly help the population. It could promote local economic self-sufficiency, by establishing community-supported agriculture programs, erecting renewable energy systems, and organizing and training local self-defense forces to maintain law and order. The Army Corps of Engineers could be ordered to bulldoze buildings erected on former farmland around city centers, return the land to cultivation, and to construct high-density solar-heated housing in urban centers to resettle those who are displaced. In the interim, it could reduce homelessness by imposing a steep tax on vacant residential properties and funneling the proceeds into rent subsidies for the indigent. With plenty of luck, such measures may be able to reverse the trend, eventually providing for a restoration of pre-Stage 2 conditions.

This may or may not be a good plan, but in any case it is rather unrealistic, because the United States, being so deeply in debt, will be forced to accede to the wishes of its foreign creditors, who own a lot of national assets (land, buildings, and businesses) and who would rather see a dependent American population slaving away working off their debt than a self-sufficient one, conveniently forgetting that they have mortgaged their children’s futures to pay for military fiascos, big houses, big cars, and flat-screen television sets. Thus, a much more likely scenario is that the federal government (knowing who butters their bread) will remain subservient to foreign financial interests. It will impose austerity conditions, maintain law and order through draconian means, and aid in the construction of foreign-owned factory towns and plantations. As people start to think that having a government may not be such a good idea, conditions become ripe for Stage 3.

If Stage 1 collapse can be observed by watching television, observing Stage 2 might require a hike or a bicycle ride to the nearest population center, while Stage 3 collapse is more than likely to be visible directly through one’s own living-room window, which may or may not still have glass in it. After a significant amount of bloodletting, much of the country becomes a no-go zone for the remaining authorities. Foreign creditors decide that their debts might not be repaid after all, cut their losses and depart in haste. The rest of the world decides to act as if there is no such place as The United States – because “nobody goes there any more.” So as not to lose out on the entertainment value, the foreign press still prints sporadic fables about Americans who eat their young, much as they did about Russia following the Soviet collapse. A few brave American expatriates who still come back to visit bring back amazing stories of a different kind, but everyone considers them eccentric and perhaps a little bit crazy.

Stage 3 collapse can sometimes be avoided by the timely introduction of international peacekeepers and through the efforts of international humanitarian NGOs. In the aftermath of a Stage 2 collapse, domestic authorities are highly unlikely to have either the resources or the legitimacy, or even the will, to arrest the collapse the dynamic and reconstitute themselves in a way that the population would accept.

As stage 3 collapse runs its course, the power vacuum left by the now defunct federal, state and local government is filled by a variety of new power structures. Remnants of former law enforcement and military, urban gangs, ethnic mafias, religious cults and wealthy property owners all attempt to build their little empires on the ruins of the big one, fighting each other over territory and access to resources. This is the age of Big Men: charismatic leaders, rabble-rousers, ruthless Macchiavelian princes and war lords. In the luckier places, they find it to their common advantage to pool their resources and amalgamate into some sort of legitimate local government, while in the rest their jostling for power leads to a spiral of conflict and open war.

Stage 4 collapse occurs when society becomes so disordered and impoverished that it can no longer support the Big Men, who become smaller and smaller, and eventually fade from view. Society fragments into extended families and small tribes of a dozen or so families, who find it advantageous to band together for mutual support and defense. This is the form of society that has existed over some 98.5% of humanity’s existence as a biological species, and can be said to be the bedrock of human existence. Humans can exist at this level of organization for thousands, perhaps millions of years. Most mammalian species go extinct after just a few million years, but, for all we know, Homo Sapiens still have a million or two left.

If pre-collapse society is too atomized, alienated and individualistic to form cohesive extended families and tribes, or if its physical environment becomes so disordered and impoverished that hunger and starvation become widespread, then Stage 5 collapse becomes likely. At this stage, a simpler biological imperative takes over, to preserve the life of the breeding couples. Families disband, the old are abandoned to their own devices, and children are only cared for up to age 3. All social unity is destroyed, and even the couples may disband for a time, preferring to forage on their own and refusing to share food. This is the state of society described by the anthropologist Colin Turnbull in his book “The Mountain People.” If society prior to Stage 5 collapse can be said to be the historical norm for humans, Stage 5 collapse brings humanity to the verge of physical extinction.

As we can easily imagine, the default is cascaded failure: each stage of collapse can easily lead to the next, perhaps even overlapping it. In Russia, the process was arrested just past Stage 3: there was considerable trouble with ethnic mafias and even some warlordism, but government authority won out in the end. In my other writings, I go into a lot of detail in describing the exact conditions that inadvertently made Russian society relatively collapse-proof. Here, I will simply say that these ingredients are not currently present in the United States.

While attempting to arrest collapse at Stage 1 and Stage 2 would probably be a dangerous waste of energy, it is probably worth everyone’s while to dig in their heels at Stage 3, definitely at Stage 4, and it is quite simply a matter of physical survival to avoid Stage 5. In certain localities – those with high population densities, as well as those that contain dangerous nuclear and industrial installations – avoiding Stage 3 collapse is rather important, to the point of inviting foreign troops and governments in to maintain order and avoid disasters. Other localities may be able to prosper indefinitely at Stage 3, and even the most impoverished environments may be able to support a sparse population subsisting indefinitely at Stage 4.

Although it is possible to prepare directly for surviving Stage 5, this seems like an altogether demoralizing thing to attempt. Preparing to survive Stages 3 and 4 may seem somewhat more reasonable, while explicitly aiming for Stage 3 may be reasonable if you plan to become one of the Big Men. Be that as it may, I must leave such preparations as an exercise for the reader. My hope is that these definitions of specific stages of collapse will enable a more specific and fruitful discussion than the one currently dominated by such vague and ultimately nonsensical terms as “the collapse of Western civilization.”
o
Download "The Collapse of Complex Societies", 
by Joseph A. Tainter, here:

"Collapse And Consequences"

Dialogue Works, 7/10/24
"Col. Larry Wilkerson: 
This is the American Empire Collapsing Before Our Eyes!"
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o
Dialogue Works, 7/10/24
"The West is About to Face Unbelievable Hardships"
"Dmitry Orlov was born in Leningrad, USSR, into an academic family, and emigrated to the US in the mid-1970s. He holds degrees in Computer Engineering and Linguistics, and has worked in a variety of fields, including high-energy physics, Internet commerce, network security and advertising. He is the author of several previous books, including "Reinventing Collapse" and "The Five Stages of Collapse."
Comments here

Dan, I Allegedly, "500 Banks Could Close - Goldman Sachs Fails Stress Test"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, AM 7/10/24
"500 Banks Could Close - 
Goldman Sachs Fails Stress Test"
Experts agree that the banking crisis is getting worse. 
Goldman Sachs just failed a stress test.
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Gregory Mannarino, "AM/PM: Bank Crisis Is Much Worse Than We Think"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/10/24
"Bank Crisis Is Much Worse Than We Think, 
You Are Not Going To Believe What's Next"
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o
Gregory Mannarino, PM 7/10/24
"You Are Going To Lose Everything In 
The Crime Of The Century! No Accident!"
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Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Canadian Prepper, "2 Months To Final Brutal Battle; CEOs Panic Selling Stocks; Biden's Historic WW3 Move"

Canadian Prepper, 7/9/24
"2 Months To Final Brutal Battle; 
CEOs Panic Selling Stocks; Biden's Historic WW3 Move"
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Gerald Celente, "High Prices, High Debt, War Equals Global Crisis"

Very strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 7/9/24
"High Prices, High Debt, War Equals Global Crisis"
"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."
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"The US Economy Is Worse Than I Thought, Companies Will Be Laying Off A Lot Of Workers"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/9/24
"The US Economy Is Worse Than I Thought,
 Companies Will Be Laying Off A Lot Of Workers"
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Judge Napolitano, "Scott Ritter: US Thrives on Continuous Conflict"

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 7/9/24
"Scott Ritter: US Thrives on Continuous Conflict"
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"Restaurant Apocalypse Accelerates As America's Biggest Chains Go Bankrupt"

Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 7/9/24
"Restaurant Apocalypse Accelerates 
As America's Biggest Chains Go Bankrupt"

"Burger King. Wendy's. Boston Market. Red Lobster. Popeye's. Arby's. Corner Bakery. Carl's Jr. The list goes on. On top of being some of the most iconic restaurants in the U.S., what do all of these companies have in common? According to U.S. Court documents, these brands have all faced bankruptcies over the past year as the “Restaurant Apocalypse” continues to wreak havoc across the nation.

New reports reveal that America's biggest chains are announcing the closure of thousands of locations right now. Many big names in the industry are currently teetering on a precipice. Seemingly every day, there's a headline announcing the death of a brand, store closings or mass layoffs in the restaurant sector. Not even the most popular fast food chains in the country are immune from this trend.

Rising food, rent and labor costs, mixed with falling demand, are spelling disaster for many companies, industry experts say. The result is "carnage everywhere," stressed Robért LeBlanc, co-owner of LeBlanc + Smith, a New Orleans restaurant and hotel group.

Over the past month alone, Red Lobster went belly up, filing for Chapter 11 and closing more than 100 locations. Cracker Barrell saw its share value collapse after posting poor financial results. Chilli's and Hooters announced a new round of store shutdowns, impacting locations in Florida, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia."
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Adventures With Danno, "Inflation Is Destroying Everything"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, PM 7/9/24
"Inflation Is Destroying Everything"
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Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Sea and Silence"

Deuter, "Sea and Silence"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"What's happening at the center of the Trifid Nebula? Three prominent dust lanes that give the Trifid its name all come together. Mountains of opaque dust appear near the bottom, while other dark filaments of dust are visible threaded throughout the nebula. A single massive star visible near the center causes much of the Trifid's glow. The Trifid, cataloged as M20, is only about 300,000 years old, making it among the youngest emission nebulas known. 
The star forming nebula lies about 9,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). The region pictured here spans about 10 light years. The featured image is a composite with luminance taken from an image by the 8.2-m ground-based Subaru Telescope, detail provided by the 2.4-m orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, color data provided by Martin Pugh and image assembly and processing provided by Robert Gendler."

“One Last Smile For My Old Friend”

Full screen recommended.
“One Last Smile For My Old Friend”
by Iain Burns

“This is the magical moment a dying chimpanzee recognizes her old friend and gives him an emotional farewell. Mama, the 59-year-old former matriarch at Royal Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands, was curled up in a ball and refusing food until the arrival of Professor Jan van Hooff, who she had known since 1972. At first she did not realize that her old friend had come to see her and remained on the floor as he stroked her. But her bond with Professor van Hooff – who co-founded her chimp colony at the Arnhem zoo – was deep enough to shake her from her gloom. The terminally ill chimp, who was fast approaching the end of her life, can be seen reacting with pure joy when she realizes who has come to see her. Mama screeched with delight and beamed with a smile while greeting the professor. Screeching with pleasure and smiling in delight, Mama can be seen stretching out her hand and stroking Professor van Hooff’s head in greeting. The video was filmed in April 2016. Mama died just a week after giving her old friend a heartfelt farewell.”

The Poet: Robinson Jeffers, "We Are Those People"

"We Are Those People"

"I have abhorred the wars and despised the liars,
laughed at the frightened
And forecast victory; never one moment's doubt.
But now not far, over the backs of some crawling years, the next
Great war's column of dust and fire writhes
Up the sides of the sky: it becomes clear that we too may suffer
What others have, the brutal horror of defeat -
Or if not in the next, then in the next - therefore watch Germany
And read the future. We wish, of course, that our women
Would die like biting rats in the cellars,
our men like wolves on the mountain:
It will not be so. Our men will curse, cringe, obey;
Our women uncover themselves to the grinning victors
for bits of chocolate."

- Robinson Jeffers, 1941

"I Am That..."

 

“15 Weird Foods That Were Common During The Great Depression And Will Come Back Soon”

Full screen recommended.
“15 Weird Foods That Were Common During 
The Great Depression And Will Come Back Soon”
by Epic Economist

"The Great Depression was an era of scarcity induced-creativity. With millions of people out of work and widespread shortages of foods and goods, families had a hard time scraping money together to feed their children. They had to make things work without household staples and other products that weren’t readily available at the stores when they needed them. Their innovations came out of necessity – from women dying their legs with tea instead of using stockings to men mending their shoes with cardboard, Americans during the Great Depression used their resourcefulness to make do with what little they had. Inventiveness became a survival mechanism.

Soup kitchens sprung up across the country to ensure that unemployed workers got at least one meal daily. It was precisely in the kitchen that you could see the biggest reflection of the ingenuity and the desperation of that era. Those who lived in rural areas typically planted gardens and raised chickens and cows. Men used to go to the woods to hunt and fish. New recipes were concocted, and many food combinations that would be considered disgusting today were actually delicacies during that time.

For example, people used to eat snapping turtles. Snapping turtles are cold-blooded reptiles and a cousin to lizards, snakes, and alligators. On average, they weigh 10 to 36 pounds each. Capturing them is not easy. They hiss like a cat if you get too close, and their jaws can easily bite off a finger. Folklore claims that the head can still bite you even after a snapping turtle is beheaded. While that may be a part of the myth, turtles could be acquired in the spring during mating season when they were on the move and were spotted crossing roads. When they leave their natural water environment, they’re much easier to catch. Turtle soup is essentially a vegetable stew with green onions, carrots, and turtle meat instead of beef or chicken. People say it tastes like a combination of pork, clams, and chicken thighs. Although it may seem weird, this soup was a way to survive during such hard times. Today, they’re still considered a delicacy in many famous restaurants.

Spurred on by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who encouraged families to save money and resources by practicing savvier home economics, many meals that people didn’t consider eating were now consumed without question. In face of hunger and misery, our society was forced to adapt.

It’s safe to say that many of these dishes aren’t for the faint of heart – or the weak of stomach. But at the end of the day, they represent the American spirit of adaptability, resilience, and for better or worse, creativity. Food scarcity was real, and some people who lived through the Depression never overcame the fear of going to bed hungry.

As hard as times were, families kept trying to find ways to survive the storm, and they did. We have a lot to learn from our ancestors because one day, we will need to develop our own sense of resourcefulness too. The recipes of that period may come back to our tables as the economy moves towards another devastating crisis. That’s why today, we decided to compile unusual foods that were very popular in the 1930s."
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"And If You Try..."

 

"And if you want to tell people the truth,
 make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you."
- Oscar Wilde

The Daily "Near You?"

Keller, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Pajama Nation: Americans Have Morphed Into the People of Walmart"

"Pajama Nation: Americans Have
 Morphed Into the People of Walmart"
by Rockaboatus

Excerpt: "If one wants to see what a huge segment of the American people have morphed into, look no farther than the ‘People of Walmart’ website. It features the obscenely unbecoming clothes that people wear while shopping at Walmart. The site is both hysterical and depressing at the same time. Though it pokes fun at sloppy Walmart shoppers, the truth is that vast numbers of Americans dress like this at any place they patronize. It’s often difficult at times to distinguish between a sloppy but employed person and a homeless bum. Some have called it “hobo-chic.”

It has become common in America to see someone wearing a hoodie, backward baseball cap, torn jeans, a ‘wife-beater,’ or their baggy pajamas to the grocery store, the DMV, or to the movies. Most people probably don’t even notice it anymore because it has become a regular feature of what Americans wear. A large sign had to be posted at the local courthouse where I live to remind visitors to wear shoes and that tank-tops are not allowed. Americans, it seems, are quite content in attiring themselves like complete slobs. They can’t be bothered to wear appropriate and form-fitting clothes. Comedian Bill Mahr was right when he said on his Real Time show in 2013 that Americans won’t be happy until they can go shopping in a diaper!"
Full article is here:

"Life Is Inconvenient..."

"One of life's best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire – then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference."
- Robert Fulghum
"Authorities Are Literally Losing Control Of The Streets 
As America’s Societal Collapse Accelerates"
By Michael Snyder

"In a civilized society, authorities are able to maintain at least a basic level of law and order in the streets most of the time. Unfortunately, at this point it is up for debate whether the United States is still a “civilized society” or not. The chaos in our streets never seems to end, and those that are in charge of running things don’t seem to be able to regain control. The theft, violence and mayhem that we are witnessing in our major cities is being fueled by the worst homelessness crisis in our entire history, the worst drug crisis in our entire history, and the worst migration crisis in our entire history. If authorities cannot control our streets now, what is going to happen once our societal collapse reaches a much more advanced stage?

Robin Bach and her husband were absolutely thrilled when they were able to purchase their dream home in Concord, New Hampshire several years ago. But now her children won’t even play in the backyard because it has been taken over by a homeless encampment…"A New Hampshire family is being terrorized by a homeless encampment that sprouted up behind their historic home, leading to violent encounters with the vagrants, according to a report.

Robin Bach and her husband spent years restoring their 19th-century dream home in Concord to raise their two children, ages 8 and 11 - but have been plagued by the campers living in the woods behind the palatial abode. They’ve received death threats and have heard gunshots and screams from beyond the tree line. A swingset in their backyard, bought in 2020 during the pandemic, sits untouched by her terrified children, who will only play in the front yard."

Thousands upon thousands of homeless encampments are popping up in communities all across this country. Bach and her family have been endlessly terrorized by those that are camping out just behind her property, and it is being reported that she has called the police 37 times…"Since purchasing the house in 2018 with grand plans to renovate and raise a family, Bach has called police 37 times, according to police records reviewed by the newspaper. Six calls were for an area check, another six for disturbances as well as domestic violence and criminal trespassing incidents."

I suppose that they could sell the house at a loss and move some place where the homeless have not taken over yet. But the problem is that the homeless encampments keep on spreading to new areas.

Meanwhile, the violence in our major cities just continues to escalate. Over the 4th of July holiday weekend, a total of 109 people were shot in the city of Chicago…"One hundred and nine people have been shot, 19 fatally, in gun violence across Chicago since Wednesday during the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend, police said. Superintendent Larry Snelling and Mayor Brandon Johnson both called for accountability for those responsible for the shootings. Johnson was pressed to address what adjustments need to be made to keep the community safe, his response was simply getting more support."

In a civilized society, when you are attacked you call the police and they come and help you. But in Chicago, about half the time there isn’t even a police officer available when someone calls in to report a violent crime…"In Chicago in 2023, more than 1,800 calls were made to 911 of a person being shot. Only about 800 – fewer than half – were responded to immediately by police officers. The other 1,000 callers were victims of 911 backlogs, where no police were available at the time of the call. Those victims had to wait half an hour, an hour, or even several hours for the 911 call backlog to end and for police to finally arrive.

It was the same for the 32,000 911 calls of an assault in progress, where police were only immediately available for 50% of those calls. And it was the same for 54% of the city’s 911 calls of 35,000 batteries in progress."

All over this country, the police are completely and utterly overwhelmed by the tsunami of lawlessness that we are witnessing all around us. They are massively outnumbered by the lawbreakers, and the lawbreakers are becoming increasingly bold. In some of our major cities, things have gotten so bad that lawbreakers brazenly take over entire streets on a regular basis. In Los Angeles, one of these “street takeovers” recently ended with a blazing inferno

"More than 50 cars were involved in a street takeover in downtown Los Angeles early Saturday as some went up in flames, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Video shows a car completely engulfed by a fire, sitting in the middle of an intersection as a thick black cloud of smoke rises from the vehicle. Other cars can be seen as they try to drive around the inferno. LAPD said several vehicles were impounded after authorities responded to the area near East 18th Street and Main Street, where participants intentionally set two of the cars on fire."

Unfortunately, this is the most law and order that we are going to get. From this point forward, our society will only become even more chaotic. Those that have been following my work for a long time know that I have warned that someday we would see armed guards on food trucks.
Well, now it is starting to happen
Things have gotten so utopian in the state of California, delivery drivers are being accompanied by armed guards due to “crime concerns” while out making deliveries. One company, Core Mart, has started hiring the guards to escort its drivers. Which means that somewhere, in a board room, it likely made more financial sense to pay for all new security staff than it did to continue to allow drivers to get robbed (and inventory lost) as was happening prior. These trucks are not transporting objects of immense value. As you can see in this footage, they are simply making deliveries to convenience stores…

This is our country now. Authorities are not able to maintain a sufficient level of control in the streets, and so companies are starting to take matters into their own hands. Needless to say, this is just the beginning. We will see things happen during the months and years to come that most people never would have imagined in their wildest dreams."

"How It Really Should Be!"

Full screen recommended.
"Network", 1976
"I'm As Mad As Hell,
 And I'm Not Going To Take This Anymore!"
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"How It Really Is"

Dan, I Allegedly, "Delivery Drivers Now Need ARMED Guards?!"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 7/9/24
"Delivery Drivers Now Need ARMED Guards?!"
"Everything crazy starts in California. We dive into the alarming reality in California where delivery drivers now need armed guards for their safety. Can you believe it? This insane turn of events highlights just how dangerous life has become, especially in areas like the San Francisco Bay Area and Oakland. Crime is out of control, businesses are fleeing, and now even delivery drivers are taking extreme measures to protect themselves."
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Judge Napolitano, "AMB. Chas Freeman: 75 years of Israeli Wars"

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 7/9/24
"AMB. Chas Freeman: 75 years of Israeli Wars"

"Could Israel be on the brink of a major conflict with Lebanon and Hezbollah? Join us on Judging Freedom as we sit down with Ambassador Charles Freeman to dissect this pressing issue and unravel Prime Minister Netanyahu's true motivations. From the internal rifts between Netanyahu and his military leadership to the formidable missile capabilities of Hezbollah, we leave no stone unturned. Discover Freeman's seasoned insights into the potential ramifications of a broader war and the controversial dynamics between Netanyahu, U.S. political figures, and the American Congress. The discussion also speculates on how a Trump re-election could dramatically shift these relations.

In the second part of our episode, we take a hard look at the October 7th incident and the implications of the infamous Hannibal Directive. Ambassador Freeman helps us scrutinize the credibility of the U.S. State Department's statements and Israel's heavy reliance on U.S. support. We delve into historical context, examining the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the pressing need for dialogue and negotiation. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the complex and enduring challenges in the region."
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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 7/9/24
"The Hannibal Directive, War Crimes, and Global Implications"
"Is the Hannibal Directive a necessary evil or a gross violation of human rights? We confront this sobering question in our latest podcast, where we probe into the harrowing realities of recent Middle Eastern conflicts. Hear eye-opening revelations about the Israeli Defense Forces' alleged use of the Hannibal Directive, a brutal measure reportedly taken to prevent hostages from falling into the hands of Hamas, even at the cost of innocent lives. We also discuss a shocking report from The Lancet revealing a staggering death toll in Gaza, not only from direct military action but also from the dire aftermath of war-related hardships."
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Full screen recommended.
The CJ Werleman Show, AM 7/9/24
"End of Zionism: 2 Million Jews Leave Israel Forever!"
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Rats desert the sinking ship...

Gregory Mannarino, "Warning! Systemic Banking System Failure Being Set Up!"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/9/24
"Warning! Systemic Banking System Failure Being Set Up!"
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“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand 
our banking and monetary system, for if they did, 
I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”
- Henry Ford

Monday, July 8, 2024

"Israel Targeted And Killed Most Of The Israeli Civilians On Oct. 7th, Not Hamas"

Full screen recommended.
Redacted, 7/8/24
"Israel Targeted And Killed Most Of The Israeli 
Civilians On Oct. 7th, Not Hamas"
"The Hannibal Directive: For months the official Israeli line has been that all those Israeli civilians that died on October 7th were at the hands of Hamas... well now we know that was a lie. Ex-CIA agent Larry Johnson confirms a new Haaretz report exposing how IDF forces targeted and killed most of the Israeli civilians killed on October 7th."
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And now it's proven they knew in advance 
of the coming attack and allowed it to happen.
What psychopathic monsters...

Canadian Prepper, "WW 3 Alert! Russia Hammers 'NATO Deep Bunker'; Israel Struck Iran!"

Canadian Prepper, 7/8/24
"WW 3 Alert! Russia Hammers 'NATO Deep Bunker'; 
Israel Struck Iran!"
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Jeremiah Babe, "Walmart Price Gouging Customers; Political And Social Chaos Unleashed"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/8/24
"Walmart Price Gouging Customers; 
Political And Social Chaos Unleashed"
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Musical Interlude: 2002, "The Dreaming Tree"

Full screen recommended.
2002, "The Dreaming Tree"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Some spiral galaxies are seen nearly sideways. Most bright stars in spiral galaxies swirl around the center in a disk, and seen from the side, this disk can appear quite thin. Some spiral galaxies appear even thinner than NGC 3717, which is actually seen tilted just a bit. Spiral galaxies form disks because the original gas collided with itself and cooled as it fell inward. Planets may orbit in disks for similar reasons.
The featured image by the Hubble Space Telescope shows a light-colored central bulge composed of older stars beyond filaments of orbiting dark brown dust. NGC 3717 spans about 100,000 light years and lies about 60 million light years away toward the constellation of the Water Snake (Hydra)."

The Poet: Chaim Stern, “For Those Who Have Died”

“For Those Who Have Died”
“Eleh Ezkerah” (“These We Remember”)

“Tis a fearful thing
To love
What death can touch.
To love, to hope, to dream,
And oh, to lose.
A thing for fools, this,
Love,
But a holy thing,
To love what death can touch.
For your life has lived in me;
Your laugh once lifted me;
Your word was a gift to me.
To remember this brings painful joy.
Tis a human thing, love,
A holy thing,
To love
What death can touch.”

- Chaim Stern
Graphic: “Into The Silent Land”,
by Henry Pegram, 1905

We shall meet again...
Full screen recommended,
Moody Blues, "The Day We Meet Again"

"The Sane Who Know..."

“Human beings are, necessarily, actors who cannot become something before they have first pretended to be it; and they can be divided, not into the hypocritical and the sincere, but into the sane who know they are acting and the mad who do not.”
- W.H Auden

"A dog might feel as majestic as a lion, might bark as loud as a roar, might have a heart as mighty and brave as a Lion's heart, but at the end of the day, a dog is a dog and a lion is a lion."
 - Charlyn Khatero

"Butterflies..."

"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it's forever."
- Carl Sagan

"The Most Precious Gift..."

“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.” 
- Walter Anderson