"This Is Going To Be A REALLY “Dark Winter” For Both America And The Entire Planet"

"This Is Going To Be A REALLY “Dark Winter”

 For Both America And The Entire Planet"

by Michael Snyder

"Enjoy the times that you are able to spend with family and friends now, because things are starting to get really crazy out there. The official beginning of winter is upon us, and just in time there is a frightening new COVID variant that is scaring the living daylights out of politicians all over the planet. Of course those deeply frightened politicians are going to respond to this new threat just like they have responded to every other chapter of this crisis so far. They are going to spend even more money, they are going to relentlessly promote the injections that the big pharmaceutical companies are pushing, and they are going to impose more absurd authoritarian measures. Needless to say, that means that this is going to be a really bad winter for the entire globe.

On Monday, the Biden administration stunned people all over the country when it promised a “winter of severe illness and death” for those that have declined to get vaccinated. The following comes from the official White House website…"For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm. So, our message to every American is clear: There is action you can take to protect yourself and your family. Wear a mask in public indoor settings. Get vaccinated, get your kids vaccinated, and get a booster shot when you’re eligible."

Have we ever seen such a bizarre statement come out of the White House? Those words are seething with contempt for those that have refused to do what Biden wants them to do.

Shortly after this statement was released, critics of Biden started firing back. For example, this is what Tim Murtaugh had to say on Twitter…"Going into the year of the midterm elections, the Biden White House has settled on its slogan: “A winter of severe illness and death.” Sounds like a winner.

Actually, it is quite likely that we will see a tremendous amount of illness and death this winter, but it won’t be in the places that Biden is expecting. Just look at what is happening in New York City. Even though the vast majority of the city is “fully vaccinated”, New York has broken its single day case record for four days in a row…"New York state’s vaccinated health commissioner tested positive for COVID-19 via a rapid test, marking yet another breakthrough case as the Big Apple battles a record-breaking viral surge, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday as she acknowledged the open seat next to her. Dr. Mary T. Bassett has also gotten her booster, she added.

News of the positive test for the state’s leading health official came the same day the Empire State broke its own single-day pandemic case record for a fourth straight day, with Hochul reporting nearly 23,400 new cases overnight. The lion’s share of those infections come from New York City, where over 15,000 people tested positive, up nearly 50% since Friday."

As Omicron spreads very rapidly in New York and elsewhere, spooked investors are starting to dump their stocks. On Monday, the Dow was down another 433 points…"U.S. stocks slid Monday, continuing last week’s losses, as the rapid spread of the omicron variant continues to worry investors who fear the new surge could hamper economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 433 points, or 1.23%, while the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.14% and 1.24%, respectively. At session lows, the Dow was down 699.94 points, or 1.98%." If fear of Omicron continues to grow, that will be very bad news for the financial markets.

Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is warning that Omicron could make the worst supply chain crisis in U.S. history even worse…"Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is concerned the Omicron coronavirus variant will exacerbate pressure on the already stressed-out global supply chain. “It’s way too soon to tell. But I do worry, because we know people are afraid to go to work,” Raimondo told CNN during an interview at her Washington office."

And it appears that a fresh wave of inflation is now upon us. Lumber prices were on the cutting edge of the last wave, and they are starting to go absolutely nuts once again…"Futures for January delivery ended Friday at $1,089.10 per thousand board feet, twice the price for a prompt delivery in mid-November. Cash prices are way up as well. Pricing service Random Lengths said that its framing composite index, which tracks on-the-spot sales, has jumped 65% since October, to $915. A $129 gain this week was the biggest on record, eclipsing a $124 jump in May, when lumber prices crested at all-time highs."

In the midst of such a highly inflationary environment, the Democrats wanted to pass the “Build Back Better bill” and spend another gigantic mountain of money. Thankfully, Senator Joe Manchin has chosen to vote against this ridiculous bill, and that is going to prevent it from getting through Congress. When asked about his vote, this is how he responded…

Manchin said, “I’ve done everything possible. And you know my concerns I had, and I still have these concerns and where I’m at right now, the inflation but I was concerned about, it’s not transitory, it’s real, it’s harming every West Virginian, making it difficult for them to continue to go to their jobs. The cost of gasoline, the cost of groceries, the cost of utility bills, all of these things are hitting in every aspect of their life.” He added, “If I can’t go home and explain it to the people of West Virginia, I can’t vote for it. I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t. I’ve tried everything possible. I can’t get there.”

I never thought that I would be thankful for Joe Manchin, and I hope that he continues to maintain his courageous stand. But of course other governments all over the globe continue to recklessly borrow and spend money, and that is likely to accelerate in 2022.

We really are on the verge of a historic global economic nightmare, and I really like how Egon von Greyerz recently summarized what is about to hit us…"The moral message is that when chaos hits, the destruction will affect everyone, rich and poor, young and old. No one will escape by power or devotion. The financial, economic and moral devastation which is about to hit the world will for more than 99.5% of the people will come out of the blue like a flash from a clear sky. For most people the coming events will thus be like the definition of the word CHAOS: “A state of total confusion and disorder”…"

Most people blindly trusted that our leaders knew what they were doing. But they didn’t, and now we are heading into a time of extreme bitterness for the entire planet. If we would have made much different choices, things could have turned out much differently. Unfortunately, now we will have to live with the consequences of our decisions, and they will be very painful indeed."

- http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

"Ben Garrison Exposes The Elephant In The Room"

"Ben Garrison Exposes The Elephant In The Room"

by Ben Garrison

"In America we are all entitled to an opinion. The First Amendment guarantees our free speech. Unfortunately, many are now censored for having an opinion that does not align with the ‘official’ one pushed by the globalist ‘authorities.’ In particular, any opinion that contradicts the current and ongoing medical tyranny is banned. We at GrrrGraphics recently endured a one-week suspension on Twitter merely because one of our cartoons questioned the abuse of vaccines. It’s my opinion, based on copious evidence, that the so-called vaccines for COVID-19 aren’t working. That said, we at GrrrGraphics are not dispensing medical advice. If you insist on getting jabbed with experimental gene therapy drugs, then that’s your decision.

Back in February Anthony Fauci pronounced the Covid injections to be “100 percent safe and effective” at preventing death by the Chinese bioweapon he helped fund. This was ridiculous if one considers that it usually takes a new vaccine nearly a decade of trials and testing before given to mass populations. In this case, billions around the world have been subjected to a giant lab experiment.

By April, Fauci downgraded his glowing scientific analysis and said no vaccine is 100 percent effective. No kidding. Everyone’s body chemistry is different. A one-size fits all inoculation is crazy. Some are allergic, some have already had vaccine damage and can’t take more. Due to the lack of testing, who knows what dangers lie ahead for the vaccinated.

Then we found out the vaccines did not stop the jabbed from transmitting the virus. Then we found out the vaccinated could still contract COVID-19, but Fauci said if that happened the symptoms would be less severe. Then we started hearing about people who were fully vaccinated yet still died from the virus, and along the way we read many stories of people dying from the vaccinations themselves.

Fauci has been promoted as the very embodiment of science, but he’s often wrong. He was wrong about the treatment of AIDS sufferers about three decades ago. Many died from him recommending the drug, AZT until it was pulled from the market. Israel recently awarded Fauci a one million dollar prize for ‘speaking truth to power’ amid the so-called pandemic. That was a howler. Fauci is the sadistic face of power that has corrupted science. Let’s not forget he funded the torture of beagles. A man who is cruel to animals has no problem being cruel to human beings.

Now we’re seeing increased Covid cases and deaths among the fully vaccinated. The lying corporate media won’t talk about it, but, you can find plenty of evidence presented by real journalists.

We will have continue to hear about one variant after another. Coronavirus tends to mutate. That’s why it’s tough to cure the common cold. I’m sure Fauci and Gates will recommend endless boosters and new vaccines. Gates, Fauci, and Big Pharma, will all continue to rake in even more taxpayer money. More people will die, but that’s the New World Order’s plan. Fear will continue to be fanned because it’s necessary for the globalists’ Great Reset plan. That plan includes far less humans on a planet owned by the oligarchs at the top of the pyramid."

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

- https://grrrgraphics.com/

"Against All Odds..."

"There's a little animal in all of us and maybe that's something to celebrate. Our animal instinct is what makes us seek comfort, warmth, a pack to run with. We may feel caged, we may feel trapped, but still as humans we can find ways to feel free. We are each other's keepers, we are the guardians of our own humanity and even though there's a beast inside all of us, what sets us apart from the animals is that we can think, feel, dream and love. And against all odds, against all instinct, we evolve."

- "Grey's Anatomy"

Musical Interlude: Two Steps From Hell, "Downstream"

“Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears. In the end that’s all there is: love and its duty, sorrow and its truth. In the end that’s all we have - to hold on tight until the dawn...”

- Gregory David Roberts, "Shantaram"

Two Steps From Hell, "Downstream"

"Retail Apocalypse Goes From Bad To Worse And Sparks Mass Store Closures And Business Bankruptcies"

Full screen recommended.

"Retail Apocalypse Goes From Bad To Worse 

And Sparks Mass Store Closures And Business Bankruptcies"

by Epic Economist

"Mass store closures have continued throughout the entire year of 2021 as the retail apocalypse accelerated the demise of several household brands that have failed the test of time. An equally horrifying fate is affecting U.S. malls, which are getting increasingly emptier and closer to bankruptcy as consumer patterns change. Roaring inflation and supply chain shortages are also compromising the performance of several businesses given that customers are being left with higher prices and fewer choices. Industry experts say that the collapse of brick-and-mortar retailers has become inevitable at this point. Mostly because in-store experiences are not as appealing as they used to be for consumers. Even brands that came up with creative ways to entice customers to visit their stores are filing for bankruptcy due to their inability to survive in such a competitive environment.

On top of that, the health crisis is undoubtedly contributing to people's fear of enclosed public spaces. Many Americans have been avoiding physical stores since mask mandates and movement restrictions started to be introduced in March 2020. As economic conditions started worsening again -- with inflation at a 40-year high while people's purchasing power steadily drops -- many of the stores that managed to stay afloat until this point are being pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. That's why, for thousands of U.S. stores, this holiday shopping season is going to be the last. With widespread shortages of supplies, a reduced labor force, and collapsing profits, several retailers are being forced to close doors for good.

Amongst them, Sears and Kmart, two brands that once proudly dominated the US retail landscape and actually emerged from bankruptcy three years ago, are hanging by a thread once again -- and industry executives are betting on the extinction of both brands. Today, there are only 21 full-line Sears stores left in the United States, according to the store locator on the Sears website. And if sales are proven to be good enough by the end of this quarter, there will be only six Sears stores left in the country. But if earnings disappoint, that will be the end. Of course, Sears and Kmart are not the only retailers struggling with the shift of consumer patterns towards e-commerce or big-box retailers, such as Walmart and Target. You've probably heard about the fatal collapse of JCPenney and Neiman Marcus, which filed for bankruptcy right after the onset of the health crisis, while Lord & Taylor went out of business, and other brands, such as GameStop, Gap, Disney have started to shut down thousands of stores to financially recover.

Many more are still in trouble as the retail apocalypse drags on. Considering that vendors are having major problems supplying much stronger retailers with the inventory they need due to the current supply chain crisis, it's getting exceedingly difficult for troubled retailers to get the products their customers want. And the ongoing labor shortage makes it even more difficult for the struggling chains to attract the workers they need. And at least 3000 more stores could be closed after this holiday season if the volume of sales isn't enough to compensate for the losses recorded over the course of the year. Experts say that the total could reach 10,000 stores or more by mid-2022, especially if the economy falls into recession again. Another issue these struggling brands are having to cope with is the rise of retail theft. In California alone, retail theft accounts for $15 billion in losses every year. Recent reports have been describing "smash and grab" incidents happening all over the state. Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Assn., said in a recent interview that in San Francisco and Oakland alone, businesses lose $3.6 billion to organized retail crime each year.

Meanwhile, American malls are dying a slow and painful death. These American cultural touchstones are also disintegrating as part of the retail apocalypse. Companies that stayed in the market for over a century are seeing their consolidated brands fade away as the apocalypse sweeps through the retail industry and leaves thousands of vacant stores and collapsing malls in its wake. Sadly, about 250 malls across the country are on the brink of bankruptcy and might be gone by the end of 2022. However, things are only going to get worse in the sector, because according to UBS, at least 80,000 retail stores are threatened by closure as e-commerce rises and the economy slides. Unfortunately, as consumers have to cope with sharp price hikes, rampant inflation, and an unstable economic and financial scenario, America's retail landscape will never be the same. Every apocalypse marks the end of an era. And our future lies in the unknown."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com​

"What Are You Made Of?"

RedFrost Motivation, "What Are You Made Of?"

Narrated by Chris Lines

"Fauci’s Finished"

"Fauci’s Finished"

by Jim Rickards

"Relax. They're not going to kill us. 

They're going to TRY and kill us. And that is a very different thing." 

- Steve Voake

"Tomorrow, Joe Biden is expected to address the nation about the new Omicron variant of the virus. An aide claims the administration is "prepared for the rising case levels" and that Biden will explain how it "will respond to this challenge." The Omicron variant is highly contagious. Some models, along with data from Europe, suggest the number of cases could potentially double every two days. Of course, you can’t really trust models, but this variant is spreading rapidly.

The good news is that it doesn’t appear to be particularly dangerous. Symptoms are generally described as those of a mild cold. But you can expect Biden to dial up the fear tomorrow. He’s probably going to try to shame the unvaccinated and warn about a “dark winter” ahead because of their refusal to take the jabs. For the fully vaccinated, he’s going to tell them to get the booster. We’ll have to see what else he has in store, but you can be sure it won’t involve telling everyone to take hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin if they start showing symptoms.

Changing Goalposts: It’s all about vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate! And when you’re done vaccinating, get ready for another. The goalposts are constantly changing. It was always expected that the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID vaccines would be two-dose treatments. (That’s not true of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine, which was always a one-dose regimen. Janssen’s is the only vaccine that relies on a more traditional adenovirus rather than mRNA technology to instruct your cells to create the toxic spike protein.)

The vaccines were initially reported to be highly effective at reducing severe symptoms and deaths. This was despite some serious side effects that have not been fully reported and are still being evaluated. The likely number of vaccine-induced deaths exceeds 20,000, based on the VAERS reporting system. We don’t know the true number because there’s no definitive evidence that the vaccine caused the death, but the spike in reported deaths since the vaccines came out is off the charts. It’s not proof of a fire, but there’s lots of smoke.

Meanwhile, all of the vaccines were falsely presented to the public as preventing infection. But that was untrue. The vaccines do not prevent infection or spread of the virus. Still, public health officials went on a full-court press to achieve 100% vaccination rates regardless of side effects, religious objections, medical objections based on asthma and other conditions and regardless of the natural immunity already acquired by over 50 million Americans who have had the disease and recovered. Besides, the vaccines do not appear to be effective at preventing infections from the Omicron variant. The fully vaccinated and the boosted can still get sick.

Lepers: Vaccine mandates were enforced through a large number of drastic outcomes for the unvaccinated. You could lose your job; lose a government contract; be denied international travel; be discharged from the military; and be denied access to restaurants, sports venues and concerts among other activities if you did not get vaccinated.

The unvaccinated were treated like lepers with the result that many got vaccinated against their better judgment solely to avoid the harsh treatment otherwise reserved for them. The only consolation was that once you were vaccinated and had your paperwork in order (and ready to present to the vax enforcers), you could go about your business when it came to work, travel or leisure.

But wait, not so fast. The petty government dictators who invented these rules in the first place are now moving the goalposts. Not only do the vaccines not stop infection, but they don’t even do their job of reducing symptoms after about six months. Naturally, Dr. Anthony Fauci is saying that it’s just a matter of time before the definition of “fully vaccinated” is changed to require three shots instead of two (or two for Janssen instead of one).

Boosters Forever: The implications of this are enormous. It means that those who thought they had put the vaccination issue behind them will have to get in line for another shot if they want to go about their business without discrimination. The supposedly vaccinated will find themselves back in the leper colony with the unvaccinated if they don’t get the new booster. Of course, the booster will wear off after six months also. (It’s called a “booster” but it’s the same vaccine as the first shot.) And that means you will have to get boosters for the rest of your life to comply with Dr. Fauci’s dictatorship.

Vaccines should be allowed as a matter of choice but vaccine mandates are mostly illegal (per recent court rulings) and counterproductive in the sense that they encourage resistance, not compliance. Though it’s not proven, mass vaccination could also be causing new variants because it forces the virus to evolve. A better strategy would likely involve targeted vaccination for the most vulnerable, with therapeutics for everyone else. That would reduce the pressure on the virus to mutate while giving natural immunity to the people who were treated early and recovered. And studies indicate natural immunity is up to 27 times more powerful than vaccine-induced immunity.

Back to the Same Failed Playbook: In the meantime, expect more damage to the economy as resources are wasted in a vain attempt to achieve Zero COVID. Politicians and the bureaucrats who guide them keep reaching for the same playbook, even though the plays didn’t work the first time. Mask mandates, lockdowns, school closings, vaccine mandates and other dictates did nothing to help.

The evidence is clear that masks don’t work. Lockdowns turned homes into COVID incubators. The better approach was to encourage people to be outside without masks, getting exercise and fresh air. School closures deprived children of a year of education and the socialization skills that come with it. Will this end anytime soon? In some free states like Florida and New Hampshire (where I live), most of the madness has ended already. But in neo-fascist states like Michigan, Oregon and Washington, the madness continues.

“Permanent… Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Permanent”: For example, the state of Oregon already had a mask mandate. However, it was issued under rules that make it temporary. This means that the deadline had to be extended from time to time, which requires public notice and possibly hearings. In order to avoid these requirements, Oregon began a process to make the mask mandate permanent. When asked to explain the new policy, the medical director for communicable diseases of the Oregon Health Authority, Dr. Paul Cieslak, defended the decision by saying, “Permanent … doesn’t necessarily mean permanent.” George Orwell must be smiling somewhere at that perfect illustration of Newspeak. It’s amazing how supposedly temporary measures can become permanent.

Meanwhile, Fauci was asked on a weekend talk show if we’re ever going to reach a point where we won’t need to wear masks on airplanes. Fauci replied, “I don’t think so.” So you’re always going to need to wear a mask on a plane regardless of the circumstances if Fauci has his way. Here’s another bit of madness: Three months ago an FDA advisory committee voted overwhelmingly, 16–2, against booster shots for the general public. But three months later, colleges are actually mandating boosters for the upcoming spring semester. What happened to “the science”?

Americans Are Fighting Back: The American people are increasingly fed up with these contradictory, destructive and non-scientific mandates from the neo-fascist bureaucrats who are mainly pursuing their own agendas. The real solution to the pandemic consists of mutations that attenuate the virus, herd immunity, better treatments, fresh air and exercise. Fauci’s dream of making everyone a vax slave will not last. His failure will require resistance by the general population.

That resistance is already taking place. Fauci is conflicted, incompetent and insecure. Moving the goalposts on vaccination is making that clear to the public. He will be deposed and vaccination will be made voluntary, but not yet. In the meantime, expect the madness to continue."

- dailyreckoning.com

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Related, essential reading:

"Unthinkable Thoughts"

"Perhaps..."

 

"The Sandcastle"

"The Sandcastle"

by Jeff Thomas

"The decline from democracy to tyranny is both a natural and inevitable one. That’s not a pleasant thought to have to consider, but it’s a fact, nonetheless. In every case, a democracy will deteriorate as the result of the electorate accepting the loss of freedom in trade for largesse from their government. This process may be fascism, socialism, communism, or a basket of "isms," but tyranny is the inevitable endgame of democracy. Like the destruction of a sandcastle by the incoming tide, it requires time to transpire, but in time, the democracy, like the sandcastle, will be washed away in its entirety.

Why should this be so? Well, as I commented some years ago, "The concept of government is that the people grant to a small group of individuals the ability to establish and maintain controls over them. The inherent flaw in such a concept is that any government will invariably and continually expand upon its controls, resulting in the ever-diminishing freedom of those who granted them the power."

Unfortunately, there will always be those who wish to rule, and there will always be a majority of voters who are complacent enough and naïve enough to allow their freedoms to be slowly removed. This adverb "slowly" is the key by which the removal of freedoms is achieved. The old adage of "boiling a frog" is that the frog will jump out of the pot if it’s filled with hot water, but if the water is lukewarm and the temperature is slowly raised, he’ll grow accustomed to the temperature change and will inadvertently allow himself to be boiled.

Let’s have a look at Thomas Jefferson’s assessment of this technique: "Even under the best forms of Government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny." Mister Jefferson was a true visionary. He knew, even as he was penning the Declaration of Independence and portions of the Constitution, that his proclamations, even if they were accepted by his fellow founding fathers, would not last. He recommended repeated revolutions to counter the inevitable tendency by political leaders to continually vie for the removal of the freedoms from their constituents.

Around the same time that Mister Jefferson made the above comment, Alexander Tytler, a Scottish economist and historian, commented on the new American experiment in democracy. He’s credited as saying, "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

So, was each of the above gentlemen throwing a dart at a board, or did they each have some kind of crystal ball? Well, actually, neither. Each was a keen student of history. Each knew that the pattern, by the end of the 18th century, had already repeated itself time and time again. In fact, as early as the fourth century BC, Plato had quoted Socrates as having stated to Adeimantus, "Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery comes out of the most extreme form of liberty."

Today, much of what was called the "free world" only half a century ago has deteriorated into a combination of residual capitalism, which has been largely and increasingly buried by socialism and fascism. (It should be mentioned that the oft-misinterpreted definition of "fascism" is the joint rule by corporate and state - a condition that’s now manifestly in place in much of the former "free" world.)

Today, many people perceive fascism as a tyrannical condition that’s suddenly imposed by a dictator, but this is rarely the case. Fascism is in fact a logical step. Just as voters succumb over time to the promises of socialism, so a parallel decline occurs as fascism slowly replaces capitalism. Fascism may appear to be capitalism, but it’s the antithesis of a free market. As Vladimir Lenin rightly stated, "Fascism is capitalism in decline."

Comrade Lenin understood the value of fascism for political leaders. Whilst he retained a close relationship with New York and London bankers, and a healthy capitalist market was tapped into for Soviet-era imports, he was aware that his power base depended largely on denying capitalism to his minions.

So, from the above quotations, we may see that there’s been a fairly erudite group of folks out there who have commented on this topic over the last 2,500 years. They agree that democracies, like sandcastles, never last. They generally begin promisingly, but, given enough time, any government will erode democracy as quickly as the political leaders can get away with it, and the progression always ends in tyranny.

We’re presently at a major historical juncture - a time in which much of the former free world is in the final stages of decay and approaching the tyranny stage. At this point, the process tends to speed up. We can observe this as we see an increase in the laws being passed to control the population - increased taxation, increased regulation, and increased promises of largesse from the government that they don’t have the funding to deliver.

When any government reaches this stage, it knows only too well that it will not deliver and that, when the lie is exposed, the populace will be hopping mad. Therefore, just before the endgame, any government can be expected to ramp up its police state. The demonstrations by governments that they’re doing so are now seen regularly - aids by SWAT teams in situations where just a small number of authorities could handle the situation just as well. Displays of armed forces in the street, including armored vehicles, in instances of disruption.

In London, Ferguson, Paris, Boston, etc., the authoritarian displays have become ever-more frequent. All that’s now necessary is a series of events (whether staged or real) to suggest domestic terrorism in several locations at roughly the same time. A state of national emergency may then be declared "for the safety of the people."

It’s this justification that will assure the success of tyranny. Historically, the majority of people in any county, in any era, choose the illusion of safety over freedom. As John Adams was fond of saying, "Those who would trade freedom for safety will have neither."

From this point on, it would be wise for anyone who lives in the EU, US, UK, etc. to watch events closely. If a rash of "domestic terrorism" appears suddenly, it could well be the harbinger that the government has reached the tipping point - when tyranny under the guise of "protecting the safety of the people" is inaugurated. The most essential takeaway here is that, although some may object (even violently), the majority of the people will trade their freedom for the promise of safety."

- internationalman.com

"Economy A Giant Mess; Economic Unknown; Disposable Income Craters; Stagflation; Retailers Empty"

Jeremiah Babe, PM 12/20/21:

"Economy A Giant Mess; Economic Unknown; 

Disposable Income Craters; Stagflation; Retailers Empty"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"To some, it may look like a beehive. In reality, the featured image from the Hubble Space Telescope captures a cosmic pillar of dust, over two-light years long, inside of which is Herbig-Haro 666 - a young star emitting powerful jets. The structure lies within one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions, the Carina Nebula, shining in southern skies at a distance of about 7,500 light-years. 

The pillar's layered outline are shaped by the winds and radiation of Carina's young, hot, massive stars, some of which are still forming inside the nebula. A dust-penetrating view in infrared light better shows the two, narrow, energetic jets blasting outward from a still hidden infant star."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211214.html

"Feeling Fed Up with Humanity, In the World and in Ourselves"

"Feeling Fed Up with Humanity, In the World and in Ourselves"

by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM

"We are all capable of the best and the worst that humanity has to offer and knowing this allows us to find compassion. From time to time, we may all feel fed up with humanity, whether it’s from learning about what’s going on around the world, or what’s going on next door. There are always situations that leave us feeling as if people are simply not capable of behaving in a way that is coming from a place of awareness. Often it seems as if people are actually geared to handle things in the worst possible way, repeatedly. At the same time, none of us wants to linger in a judgmental mood about our own species. As a result, we might tend to repress the feelings coming up as we take in the news from the world and the neighborhood.

It is natural to feel let down and disappointed when we see our fellow humans behaving in ways that are greedy, selfish, violent, or uncaring, but there are also ways to process that disappointment without sinking into despondency. As with any emotional response, we honor our feelings by feeling them fully, without judging or acting on them. Once we’ve done that— and we may need to do it every day, as part of our daily self-care — we can begin to consider ways that we might help the situation in which humanity finds itself.

As always, we start with ourselves, utilizing our awareness of the failings of others to renew our own commitment to be more conscious human beings. We are all capable of the best and the worst that humanity has to offer, and remembering this keeps us in check, as well as allowing us to find compassion for others. We may find ourselves feeling compelled to serve people who are suffering injustices at the hands of other people, or we may begin to speak out when we see something that we don’t think is right. Whatever the case, the only thing we can do is pledge to serve the best, rather than the worst, of what humanity has to offer, both in the world, and in ourselves."

- http://www.dailyom.com/

"The World As I See It: Albert Einstein's Thoughts on the Meaning of Life"

"The World As I See It:

Albert Einstein's Thoughts on the Meaning of Life"

by Paul Ratner

"Albert Einstein was one of the worlds most brilliant thinkers, influencing scientific thought immeasurably. He was also not shy about sharing his wisdom about other topics, writing essays, articles, letters, giving interviews and speeches. His opinions on social and intellectual issues, that do not come from the world of physics, give an insight into the spiritual and moral vision of the scientist, offering much to take to heart.

The collection of essays and ideas "The World As I See It" gathers Einsteins thoughts from before 1935, when he was as the preface says, at the height of his scientific powers but not yet known as the sage of the atomic age.

In the book, Einstein comes back to the question of the purpose of life on several occasions. In one passage, he links it to a sense of religiosity. What is the meaning of human life, or, for that matter, of the life of any creature? To know an answer to this question means to be religious. You ask: Does it many any sense, then, to pose this question? I answer: The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life, wrote Einstein.

Was Einstein himself religious? Raised by secular Jewish parents, he had complex and evolving spiritual thoughts. He generally seemed to be open to the possibility of the scientific impulse and religious thoughts coexisting. "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind," said Einstein in his 1954 essay on science and religion.

Some (including the scientist himself) have called Einsteins spiritual views as pantheism, largely influenced by the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza. Pantheists see God as existing but abstract, equating all of reality with divinity. They also reject a specific personal God or a god that is somehow endowed with human attributes.

Himself a famous atheist, Richard Dawkins calls Einstein's pantheism a sexed-up atheism, but other scholars point to the fact that Einstein did seem to believe in a supernatural intelligence that's beyond the physical world. He referred to it in his writings as a superior spirit, a superior mind and a spirit vastly superior to men. Einstein was possibly a deist, although he was quite familiar with various religious teachings, including a strong knowledge of Jewish religious texts.

In another passage from 1934, Einstein talks about the value of a human being, reflecting a Buddhist-like approach: "The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self."

This theme of liberating the self is also echoed by Einstein later in life, in a 1950 letter to console a grieving father Robert S. Marcus: "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind."

In case you are wondering whether Einstein saw value in material pursuits, here's him talking about accumulating wealth in 1934, as part of the "The World As I See It": "I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause. The example of great and pure characters is the only thing that can lead us to noble thoughts and deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and irresistibly invites abuse. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus or Gandhi armed with the money-bags of Carnegie?"

- http://bigthink.com/

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Freely download "The World As I See It", by Albert Einstein, here:

- https://www.colonialtours.com/o

"What Can We Know?"

"What can we know? What are we all?

Poor silly half-brained things peering out at the infinite,

with the aspirations of angels and the instincts of beasts."

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"It would indeed be a tragedy if the history of the human

 race proved to be nothing more than the story of 

an ape playing with a box of matches on a petrol dump."

- David Ormsby-Gore

The Poet: John Clare, “I Am”

“I Am”

Read by Tom O'Bedlam

"I am! yet what I am none cares or knows,

My friends forsake me like a memory lost;

I am the self-consumer of my woes,

They rise and vanish in oblivious host,

Like shades in life and death's oblivion lost;

And yet I am! and live with shadows tost.

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,

Into the living sea of waking dreams,

Where there is neither sense of life nor joys,

But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;

And e'en the dearest - that I loved the best - 

Are strange - nay, rather stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes where man has never trod;

A place where woman never smil'd or wept;

There to abide with my creator, God,

And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept:

Untroubling and untroubled where I lie;

The grass below - above the vaulted sky."

- John Clare

About the poet: John Clare (13 July, 1793- 20 May, 1864) was an English poet. He was born in Northamptonshire, England in the family of a farm laborer, and lived most of his life in abject poverty. His life was marred by bouts of mania and depression, and for the final 23 years of his life, Clare was locked in an insane asylum.

Clare's poetic work mostly showcases his celebratory representations of the English countryside. In his time, Clare was commonly known as "Northamptonshire Peasant Poet" His early work delights both in nature and the cycle of the rural year. "I Am" is a commentary on the complexity of existence.

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“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering - these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love - these are what we stay alive for.”

- “Dead Poets Society”

"The Bewildered Herd..."

“The bewildered herd is a problem. We've got to prevent their roar and trampling. We've got to distract them. They should be watching the Superbowl or sitcoms or violent movies. Every once in a while you call on them to chant meaningless slogans like "Support our troops!" You've got to keep them pretty scared, because unless they're properly scared and frightened of all kinds of devils that are going to destroy them from outside or inside or somewhere, they may start to think, which is very dangerous, because they're not competent to think. Therefore it's important to distract them and marginalize them.”

- Noam Chomsky

The Daily "Near You?"

Rhododendron, Oregon, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Beware of Bank Jugging and the Worst Retail Christmas Ever"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly, 12/20/21:

"Beware of Bank Jugging and the Worst Retail Christmas Ever"

"Bank jugging is a huge problem. Have you heard of this growing problem? Crime continues at a horrible pace. The economy is growing tired and can’t be held up."

"The Omicron Fake-out"

"The Omicron Fake-out"

by Jim Kunstler

"My guess is that Americans, by and large, cherish Christmas more than they fear the latest Covid-19 government-sponsored terror campaign, and that the globalist tyrants - or whatever you want to call them - behind “Joe Biden” have now gone a mind-f**k too far. Omicron is all they have left, and it’s not much to work with. Spreads easily, mild presentation, immunizes naturally. What’s not to like about this variant of SARS-CoV-2? Kind of looks like an off-ramp from the Covid-19 mass formation psychosis nightmare.

Of course, the last thing the authorities want is an end to the pandemic panic. The Emergency Self-Authorized President Anthony Fauci was all over cable news Sunday night with dire warnings about a winter-of-death! “We have a tough few months ahead,” he warned. “Get boosted!” A CNN blonde told the nation: “The case for boosters has never been stronger.”

Is that so? Omicron supposedly started in South Africa some weeks ago and Covid deaths there are at an 18-month low. The existing “vaccines” appear to be completely ineffective against omicron, so how is more of that stuff going to help? And then why all the hysteria about vaxxing up the vaxx-resistant? Insofar as the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines present not insignificant risks of harmful-to-fatal side effects, plus being ineffective, what is the prudent bet there? Speaking of which, will the public even be able to discern whether the alleged winter death surge is a result of Covid or of adverse reactions to the vaxxes? My money would be on adverse vaxx events.

Why is there absolutely no talk - except in the state of Florida, run by Governor Ron DeSantis - about comprehensive early treatment of Covid? Why is the CDC not setting up early treatment centers around the USA, where people with symptoms can receive monoclonal antibody infusions and kits of well-known, cheap, safe and effective oral medicines that can be used easily at home to defeat the virus? (Those medicines have been surreptitiously outlawed by our own CDC, you know.) Is it outlandish to suppose that the official “Joe Biden” government objective is to allow as many people to die as possible in order to keep the public terrorized? Meanwhile, they’ve provoked the public to line up for Covid tests using a PCR system so discredited for Covid detection that months ago the CDC scheduled it to go offline on December 31st, (And, uh, why the long time-lag between the decision and the action? Answer: it allows the CDC to falsely jack up case numbers until the year’s bitter end.)

With the apparent defeat of the Build Back Better boondoggle, following a long list of other failures, the “Joe Biden” regime’s main chance for retaining any power is to keep the Covid panic going long enough to re-run the mail-in voting scams of 2020 in the 2022 congressional elections. It’s a weak play, though, since the opposition is fully onto it. And if the Democratic Party loses as many seats in Congress and the Senate as it deserves to lose, not a single piece of their toxic legislation will see daylight until the mastodons come home in the next ice age. Also consider that Democratic Party operatives by the limousine-load will be hauled in to testify before opposition-controlled committees and many of these will be subject to criminal referrals.

Anyway, that election is a long ways away while events are moving fast and furiously. Chiefly, the regime’s favorite narratives are falling apart along with its poll numbers and the collapsing economy. “Joe Biden” is programmed to make a pitch for Christmas lockdowns on Tuesday night. I’m sure that’ll go over well (not), on top of the renewed threat of vaxx mandates that will get millions of working people worried and pissed-off about losing their livelihoods - as they go about their frantic last-minute Christmas shopping while making plans for family gatherings that may be cancelled (including airline tickets). Let’s go, Brandon!

One useful idea floating around the Internet lately is for a nationwide general strike to take place on January Fourth, the first back-to-work day after the holiday. It’s simple: don’t show up for work and don’t spend a nickel. The message will be clear: Just stop it! Stop the coercion, stop the lying, stop the shenanigans, and stop the mind-f**kery. If that event comes off, a lot of people will be free for the day - maybe a few days - to take to the streets and demonstrate their principled opposition to illegitimate political leadership. ”Joe Biden” and company will jump up and down, calling it another “insurrection.” Guess what: nobody will believe them."

- https://kunstler.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "New Lockdowns Begin! Moronic Fear Grips The Markets; Prepare For A Pan-Selloff At The Open"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 12/20/21:

"New Lockdowns Begin! Moronic Fear Grips The Markets;

 Prepare For A Pan-Selloff At The Open"

- https://traderschoice.net/

"How It Really Is"

 

"Economic Market Snapshot AM 12/20/21"

"Economic Market Snapshot AM 12/20/21"

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"Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will

do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone."

- John Maynard Keynes

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"The more I see of the monied classes,

the better I understand the guillotine."

- George Bernard Shaw

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MarketWatch Market Summary, Live Updates

- https://www.marketwatch.com/tools/marketsummary

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CNN Market Data:

- https://money.cnn.com/data/markets/

CNN Fear And Greed Index:

- https://money.cnn.com/data/fear-and-greed/

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A comprehensive, essential daily read.

- http://www.shadowstats.com/

Dec. 16th to 20th, Updated Daily

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Financial Stress Index

"The OFR Financial Stress Index (OFR FSI) is a daily market-based snapshot of stress in global financial markets. It is constructed from 33 financial market variables, such as yield spreads, valuation measures, and interest rates. The OFR FSI is positive when stress levels are above average, and negative when stress levels are below average. The OFR FSI incorporates five categories of indicators: credit, equity valuation, funding, safe assets and volatility. The FSI shows stress contributions by three regions: United States, other advanced economies, and emerging markets."

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- https://www.freightwaves.com/

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Daily Job Cuts

- https://www.dailyjobcuts.com/

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- https://wallstreetonparade.com/

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- https://www.zerohedge.com/

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- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

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- https://www.whatreallyhappened.com/

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- https://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/

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Commentary, highly recommended:

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

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And now, the End Game...

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Oh yeah...

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"Ive Studied Nuclear War For 35 Years - You Should Be Worried"

Full screen recommended.

"Ive Studied Nuclear War For 35 Years - You Should Be Worried"

A talk by Brian Toon, TEDxMileHigh

"For the first time in decades, it's hard to ignore the threat of nuclear war. But as long as you're far from the blast, you're safe, right? Wrong. In this sobering talk, atmospheric scientist Brian Toon explains how even a small nuclear war could destroy all life on earth - and what we can do to prevent it. A professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado-Boulder, Brian Toon investigates the causes of the ozone hole, how volcanic eruptions alter the climate, how ancient Mars had flowing rivers, and the environmental impacts of nuclear war. He contributed to the U.N.’s Nobel Peace Prize for climate change and holds numerous scientific awards, including two NASA medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement. He is an avid woodworker. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community."

Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

"Washington Spits In the Kremlin’s Eye"

"Washington Spits In the Kremlin’s Eye"

by Paul Craig Roberts

"NATO promises to keep expanding, despite Russian objections
The two-bit punk Washington puppet, Jens Stoltenberg, responded for Washington to Russian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Ryabkov by spitting in the Kremlin’s eye. Minister Ryabkov made it clear, finally after much too long of a time, that NATO would not be permitted to advance any further. But, as I said would be the case, Washington did not hear.
 Stoltenberg, a non-entity of no consequence, just told the world’s preeminent military power to go to hell.

As for the Kremlin’s opposition to Ukraine being incorporated into NATO, Washington’s puppet declared: “whether Ukraine joins NATO is up to the bloc’s member states and its leadership, and that Moscow doesn’t have input into the decision.”

Will the Kremlin pretend the strong rebuff didn’t happen? Stoltenberg is not going to let them: “NATO countries are already training Ukrainian troops and consulting with them,” he bragged. “They are conducting joint exercises and providing military supplies and technology.” As Biden and his Secretary of State already said: “We don’t give a hoot about Russian red lines. The exceptional US has red lines, not those inconsequential Russian jerks.”

What now will the Kremlin do? Will Lavrov rush out and “correct” Ryabkov so the Kremlin can continue to avoid the reality? Indeed, what can the Kremlin actually do? Having misplaced its trust in Western democracy, reasonableness, dialogue, negotiation, the Kremlin has been led by its pro-American intellectual class, its pro-Western Atlanticist Integrationists, and CIA-financed protesters inside Russia down a blind alley. Trapped in a blind alley, how is the Kremlin going to get out?

The West was astonished when suddenly the Russian foot came down in Syria and Washington’s overthrow of the Syrian government was blocked by Russian military force. With the West stunned, that was the time for the Kremlin to settle on its terms all other issues, but the vision simply was not there. The Kremlin worried that someone in the West might not speak well of them.

All the Kremlin has achieved is to show that it naively believes in all the professed values of the West that the West most certainly does not believe in.

I have said from the beginning that Russian foreign policy has been a mistake that is leading to nuclear war. We are at the point where Russia must back down or show in a highly convincing way that it will, indeed, use its superior force.

To comprehend how poorly the entire Western world is led, consider that while this most serious situation developed off the radar the idiot Western governments were preoccupied with boosting the profits of the pharmaceutical industry with an orchestrated fake “Covid pandemic” by marketing a “vaccine” that does not protect against Covid but does cause serious injuries and deaths.

Something has happened to human intelligence everywhere on the globe. Hype prevails over reality. Unimportant issues silence important issues. Truth is less preferred than illusion and delusion. Avoid reality at all cost. Pretend. Pretend. The utter fools who comprise the governments of the world don’t see what is coming."

- https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/

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Related:

"7 Signs That War With Russia Just Got Even Closer"

"A Market Veteran Just Revealed The Perfect Storm Is Brewing For Stocks To Suffer A Massive Crash!"

Full screen recommended.

"A Market Veteran Just Revealed The Perfect Storm 

Is Brewing For Stocks To Suffer A Massive Crash!"

by Epic Economist

"A 29-year market veteran is sounding the alarm about a devasting stock market crash as the Fed starts tapering and rising interest rates next week, effectively pulling its support out of the market. Jon Wolfenbarger, who runs BullandBearProfits.com and is a former investment analyst for Allianz Global Investors and JP Morgan, argues that the only positive thing keeping the market from falling apart was support from the Federal Reserve, which is now gone. As Wolfenbarger pointed out, the end of the policy typically is an indication of a poor future for stock returns and inflated valuations.

"This means bad news for investors," said Wolfenbarger during an interview with Business Insider. "That completely eliminates the main bull case that I think most investors are relying on". The financial analyst highlighted that a perfect storm for stocks to suffer a big crash is looming on the horizon. Exceedingly high valuations increase the odds of a brutal stock market crash since stock prices will have to sharply readjust to come back down to earth. At this point, the Warren Buffett indicator, which compares stock valuations to GDP, is at an all-time high, while the Schiller price-to-earnings ratio is at levels last seen during the peak of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s. However, behind soaring valuations is an unsustainably bullish sentiment, which Wolfenbarger as a contrarian indicator. Wolfenbarger said that the initial pullback will be of about 20 percent. But the Fed tightening will trigger a bigger sell-off, that will make the market drop by an additional 60 percent.

Similarly, Seeking Alpha's market analyst Robbe Delaet argues that the first burst marks 'phase one' of the bubble collapse. And we're now headed to phase two. In a recent article, Delaet explained why so many investors are scratching their heads about what's going on in the stock market right now. Even though indices keep trading at all-time highs, a series of individual stocks are dramatically crashing. "Here's the explanation," he wrote: "The epic 2021 bubble, which I have been warning for several times, has already collapsed," he says. However, due to the very specific characteristics of a bubble collapse, the indices continued rallying, but as we enter phase two, that's about to change. The first part of the 2021 bubble burst began with the collapse of small-cap and meme stocks.

The first bubble to pop was fueled by a new wave of investors, mostly millennials who have no concern about valuations and see no problem in taking huge amounts of risk, the analyst explains. Many of those new investors still believe that these high growth rates are going to persist for many years. But "following the herd by buying hyped stocks can be a very costly mistake which I strongly discourage investors to do," Delaet warns. This group of investors loved to pour giant piles of money into extremely expensive hype stocks. But as companies started to release their growth reports based on real economic prospects, these hyped small-cap stocks have been hit by an outlook of little to no revenues in the near term. During the dot-com bubble, the exact same thing happened. Several unprofitable, hyped small-cap stocks aggressively dropped in 1999, but it took until March 2000 for the general Nasdaq Index to peak and then fatally crash.

It is in phase two that we will see growth stocks plunging to record-lows while the tech bubble burst finishes its course. Most of the new investors thought that growth stocks provided similar potential with lower risks. That could be true if the economy was stable enough to support growth. But that's not the case right now. This year, the amount of money that went into these stocks was so mind-blowing that many of them gained hundreds of percentages points. "As a consequence of valuations having grown to unsustainable levels, these investments became extremely risky as well. As valuation risks became unbearable and macro-economic challenges increased, this asset class started to sell off significantly in November," he wrote.

All signs are pointing to an imminent disaster, or as Wolf Richter from wolfstreet.com has put it: "This market doesn’t need more alarm bells – they’re already clanging and jangling all over the place." This extremely over-valued stock market is currently capitalizing on an economy that might exist by the year 2060, but not today. Leverage is starting to fade as companies report their declining quarterly earnings. And Fed tapering is only the tip of the iceberg for the stock market. Many problems are lying under the surface, and the truth is that the financial system is terminally broken. At this point, a stock market crash is not only a matter of logic but of gravity. Buyers beware."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com​

Musical Interlude: Gnomusy, "Footprints on the Sea"

Gnomusy, "Footprints on the Sea"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"The beautiful Trifid Nebula is a cosmic study in contrasts. Also known as M20, it lies about 5,000 light-years away toward the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. A star forming region in the plane of our galaxy, the Trifid does illustrate three different types of astronomical nebulae; red emission nebulae dominated by light from hydrogen atoms, blue reflection nebulae produced by dust reflecting starlight, and dark nebulae where dense dust clouds appear in silhouette. 

But the red emission region roughly separated into three parts by obscuring dust lanes is what lends the Trifid its popular name. Pillars and jets sculpted by newborn stars, below and left of the emission nebula's center, appear in famous Hubble Space Telescope close-up images of the region. The Trifid Nebula is about 40 light-years across. Just too faint to be seen by the unaided eye, it almost covers the area of a full moon in planet Earth's sky."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210812.html

"When I Hear..."

"When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard,"

I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"

- Sydney Harris

"What Keeps You Going..."

"What keeps you going isn't some fine destination but just the road you're on, and the fact that you know how to drive. You keep your eyes open, you see this damned-to-hell world you got born into, and you ask yourself, 'What life can I live that will let me breathe in and out and love somebody or something and not run off screaming into the woods?'"

- Barbara Kingsolver

“For this is what we do. Put one foot forward and then the other. Lift our eyes to the snarl and smile of the world once more. Think. Act. Feel. Add our little consequence to the tides of good and evil that flood and drain the world. Drag our shadowed crosses into the hope of another night. Push our brave hearts into the promise of a new day. With love: the passionate search for truth other than our own. With longing: the pure, ineffable yearning to be saved. For so long as fate keeps waiting, we live on. God help us. God forgive us. We live on.”

- Gregory David Roberts, “Shantaram”

"The Future..."

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Real church sign...