Monday, March 7, 2022

"The Gang of Weasels Just Lost Another Conflict Because They Are Tone Deaf"

"The Gang of Weasels Just Lost Another 
Conflict Because They Are Tone Deaf"
by Bob Moriarty

"The world is in an epoch battle between the forces of evil represented by the Gang of Weasels led by Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, George Soros, all of the Davos clowns, the MSM and the Young Global Leaders on one side and the 99% yearning for freedom from unlimited government on the other. The battle has been planned and in progress for many years. The Gang of Weasels want you to believe that all you need to do to change the climate is to increase taxes and hand the money to them.

Klaus Schwab and his minions were the driving factor behind the BLM and ANTIFA riots. We were treated to videos with a breathless reporter standing in front of a burning building talking about “a mostly peaceful protest”. The riots from the “mostly peaceful protest” cost over two billion dollars and resulted in the deaths of twenty-five people. The American people owe a vote of thanks to George Soros and the WEF. The purpose was to overthrow a popular president and when the most corrupt election in US history ended picking the opposition candidate, the riots went away overnight.

The entire Covid bullshit story was a deliberate invention. Moderna patented part of the virus DNA three years before Covid got a name. Fauci and the US paid for the Gain of Function done at the Wuhan lab before the virus either escaped or was deliberately released. It was a bad flu. Even the CDC admitted two cheap and effective safe drugs in common use could have cured it. They did that in April of 2020.

The lockdowns created far more hardship but the bad flu didn’t care. The masks didn’t work. Dr. “Follow the Science” Fauci came up with five different and conflicting rules for wearing masks. Which of the five ways was “Following the Science?” Then he lied in sworn testimony to Congress about the gain of function.

Social Distancing changed nothing. Shutting down the economy had no effect on the virus but the Gang of Weasels kept telling the world through their MSM mouthpieces that they were winning.

Finally the barely tested “vaccines” arrived and the Gang of Weasels began the clamor for everyone to take the jab even though the companies making the “vaccines” knew all about all of the deadly effects. The EUA required by law was always illegal because the CDC knew and hid the fact that two different drugs were more effective. The entire purpose of the Covid mass hysteria was to get a worldwide “vaccine” passport that is nothing but a mass ID plan so the Gang of Weasels can seize financial assets from the 99% once they wake up and start to complain.

Insurance companies and pathologists began reporting that something deadly was killing people. Excess deaths are up 40% in the 18-65 age group and autopsies are showing bizarre blood behavior in those who had taken the jab.

In the book “The Fourth Turning” written in 1997 the authors predicted a Crisis Stage starting about 2005 where either tyranny ensues or the public wakes up and begins to demand freedom. In any revolution most of the masses stand aside to see who will determine their future. In the just now starting worldwide revolution perhaps ten to fifteen percent of people care enough about freedom to fight for it. The counter-revolution seems to have begun in Canada with totally peaceful protests from Canadian truck drivers. In Canada the only time anyone riots is after an ice hockey game.

The truck drivers crossing Canada to land in Ottawa in front of their Parliament was a sight to see with thousands of ordinary citizens standing on overpasses cheering and waving giant Canadian flags as the truckers passed. Anyone who actually wanted to understand what the issues were only had to watch Trudeau speaking in Parliament and watching the protest outside.

According to Trudeau the protestors were evil and the worst people in the world who wanted to overthrow the government. It was interesting to me that during pretty much a month, not a single legislator went outside to talk to the protestors as if talking to them would somehow validate their cause. The legislature was entirely tone deaf and finally Trudeau, at the suggestion of his master in the WEF evoked The Emergencies Act of Canada, similar in form and function to The Enabling Act passed in Germany in March of 1933 giving total control to the government.

Another WEF puppet in the form of Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada promptly told the banks to seize the accounts of all of those who contributed to support the truckers. People who had contributed as little as $50 found their accounts closed and the money stolen by the government. This of course has always been the intent of Klaus Schwab and the WEF to gain total control of an economy. Bear in mind that when the person behind the $50 donation made it, protests were perfectly legal in Canada and the donation was perfectly legal.

Those elites who have never held a real job or worked for a living or created anything of value via a business not only believe they are better and smarter than the rest of the 99% but far more powerful. Chrystia Freeland discovered much to her dismay that she didn’t have the power that she thought she had. The remaining people who had made donations beat it to the bank and withdraw their money and transferred their accounts before the government could steal it. That of course caused the entire Canadian banking system to freeze.

If you have a cat and it claws you, you have the power to take said feline and hurl it against the wall but power is only useful when used in moderation. Trudeau and Freeland found out the hard way the limits of power and after being informed that Canada was about to shut the doors on a permanent basis because of their stupidity, they promptly backtracked.

Covid and the truckers had their day and the WEF needed a new chapter of fear porn. So the US and Nato pushed Ukraine into attacking Donbass secure in the belief the US had their backs. Of course Nato and the US are willing to fight Russia in Ukraine to the last drop of Ukrainian blood. Putin responded by repeating again and again that attacks on Donbass, Ukrainian nuclear weapons and Ukraine joining Nato were all lines in the sand that he would not tolerate them crossing. But the WEF and the neocons in Washington were determined to have their little war with Russia.

Wars are easy to start and hard to finish. No one ever wins any war; all that happens is that one side loses more than the other. We have that war now that the US and Nato began. A stalemate will guarantee a nuclear exchange. Russia will not be defeated.

The US is in an interesting position with the weakest leadership in US history. The president is senile and should be at home in front of a fire counting the money he was paid in bribes from Ukraine through his crack head son. The VP shows the ultimate result of selecting people for positions strictly on the basis of sex and being a minority.

Kamala Harris is truly a stupid woman. She even challenges Justin Trudeau for stupidity. The last real decision Trudeau ever made was the selection of what kind of shoe polish he should use for his costume for a party. Should he use black or would brown be a better color?

World diplomacy has morphed into what is little more than mass mob hysteria with the Pope, Switzerland and most of the world treating this war as if it is some minor football match where you dress up in the jersey of your favorite star. How on earth did Switzerland come to the conclusion they needed to speak up on behalf of the Nazis in Ukraine? They didn’t speak up for Iraq, or Afghanistan or Iran or Syria.

The sanctions laid on Russia for daring to do what they said they would do to defend their country and their citizens are not similar to that of dropping a turd in the punch bowl. It’s a lot more like dropping the entire punch bowl into a cesspool and inviting the world to sip. The sanctions are going to blow up the entire debt based paper economy since individuals no longer actually own their assets. The government can steal them at any time for any reason.

The real reason there is so much hysteria in the MSM is because actually the Gang of Weasels is losing big time as citizens wake up one at a time and realize that freedom is not free, it must be paid for."

“Markets In Panic Mode; Warning: Banks Legally Seize Cash; FED Has Lost Control; Pension Collapse Next”

Jeremiah Babe, PM 3/7/22:
“Markets In Panic Mode; Warning: Banks Legally Seize Cash;
 FED Has Lost Control; Pension Collapse Next”

"As a Wrecking Ball is Crushing Stocks Food Rationing is Coming As a Supply Shock of a Lifetime is Imminent"

Full screen recommended.
Steven Van Metre,
"As a Wrecking Ball is Crushing Stocks Food Rationing
 is Coming As a Supply Shock of a Lifetime is Imminent"
Related:

“I Think You've All Lost Your Minds”

“I Think You've All Lost Your Minds”
by Brian Maher

"This weekend we really flustered the fish… and fluttered the dovecotes… That is because we argued that Vladimir Putin merited the Nobel Prize. Can you imagine it - Vladimir Putin - for the Nobel Prize? As well nominate Dr. Fauci for Physician of the Year. Who outside the devil could suggest it? Only a fellow as malicious and vicious as your editor could suggest it.

Our moral abominations excited reader Mary into a state of furious incandescence. She dealt with us this way: "I have an employee who is Ukrainian and in touch with her suffering relatives over there. Your sympathy is for the uber-rich oligarchs… and not for the people of a democracy who have been in need of our help for the past 20 years to maintain that democracy… Putin doesn't deserve any positive recognition… He sure as hell does not deserve any kind of prize, particularly the Nobel PEACE Prize!!

This ability of yours to compartmentalize the moral and immoral behavior of an obviously bad person with selfish aims and evil intent explains your support of Donald Trump and the Marjorie Greenes of the world. Your obsession with far-right politics and money has caused you to lose your sense of right and wrong. I think you've all lost your minds to even put that nomination in print."

The Side of the Angels: We appreciate vastly Mary’s principled ferocity. Love us or hate us, we say - but spare us your indifference. Mary has spared us her indifference. And we have no doubt: Mary is with the angels. Yet our stone heart is actually with Mary’s Ukrainian employee. It is also with her desperate and forlorn Ukrainian relatives, presently withering beneath Mr. Putin’s atrocities.

As we argued last week: "Let the record reflect it at once - we are not with the Russian strongman. Ukrainian blood - and Russian blood - will forever stain his hands. He cannot rinse it away."

We repeated our denunciation of Mr. Putin’s “special military operation” in this weekend’s Reckoning. We are not certain Mary listened. We suspect she glanced the title – “Putin Deserves the Nobel Prize” - and ran away. If Mary read on she would have understood we did not nominate Mr. Vladimir Putin for the Nobel Peace Prize. We nominated - wryly and jestingly - Mr. Putin for the Nobel Prize in medicine. The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine is not the Nobel Peace Prize. Mary failed to appreciate the jest.

Anti-Partisan: Yet let us concede it now: Your editor is a sort of rascal, though generally harmless… Moral panics, frenzies and manias fail to stir him. He yanks on legs and pulls on noses - particularly those of the pious and the righteous. He places tacks on chairs and dips ponytails in inkwells. He activates hallway fire alarms. He razzes. Let it also enter the record: This publication has not supported “Donald Trump and the Marjorie [Taylor] Greenes of the world.”

We found the former a fantastic source of entertainment, it is true. Never has a United States president frosted so many noses or wrung so many gizzards. And we suspect strongly - we know it for a fact - we have not mentioned the latter even once in these pages. Nor do we harbor an “obsession with far-right politics.”

We harbor no obsession with politics whatsoever… save as entertainment. We attempt to skirt politics to the extent it is possible. Alas, it is not always possible. To the extent we are partisan, we are partisan for whichever side will leave us most alone. But each side, left and right, invades our peace, our dignity and our wallet to one degree or other.

But is Mary correct that we have lost our mind? We would inform Mary that a man can only lose something he previously possessed.

In Praise of Division: Days earlier reader Tim denounced us for fomenting “division”: "Rethink your misguided current course of action as now more than ever we need unity, not division." Yet we would inform Tim that unity is not our concern. In point of fact, unity generally alarms us. Unity is often the warrant for all manner of political evil - war, to name one example. Pandemic-induced “lockdowns” and censorship of dissent to name two more.

The Daily Reckoning grazes against the grain of consensus, by its nature. If it is unity Tim seeks, we would direct him elsewhere. He will not find it here. It is the wrong address. But to proceed…

Again, Putin for the Nobel Prize: We merely argued this weekend that Mr. Putin’s latest buccaneering has ended the pandemic. Hence his nomination for the Nobel Prize in medicine: "The coronavirus has menaced us for two years. We have endured vicious home imprisonments, grave economic privations, government ruthlessness and all species of associated miseries. None of it has leashed the virus. Nor have the vaccines - which is now obvious to any with eyes able to see and willing to see.

Now comes along the Russian berserker… Within the space of days, he has scotched the virus and put it to rout. He has liberated us at last from this hell-sent scourge."

In support of our nomination we cited economist Martin Armstrong. From whom: "The joke running around is that Putin should be nominated for the 2022 Nobel Prize in medicine for he cured COVID-19 in 48 hours – something nobody else has been able to do in three years. Just hours before Biden’s State of the Union, he rescinded the mask requirement. So just hours before, you would get COVID if you did not have a mask. Thanks to Putin, suddenly Congress could actually meet without masks. That is something nobody else could have done in a matter of hours."

Clemency for Putin: And has Dr. Fauci put in a single television appearance since this latest rumpus commenced? To our knowledge he has not… though we will take correction if mistaken. The doctor’s recent vanishing nearly tempts us to absolve Mr. Putin of his grave, grave sins against peace. We cannot do it of course. Yet we might counsel some slight clemency when The Hague convicts him of crimes against humanity. Rather than 89 consecutive life sentences, we might reduce it to 81. Perhaps even 66 if we are in generous spirits come the time.

If Dr. Fauci vanishes forever - may the Lord forgive us - we may even be amenable to a full and unconditional pardon…"

"The Ukrainian People Are Being Sacrificed Like Pawns On A Chessboard By The Global Elite"

Full screen recommended.
"The Ukrainian People Are Being Sacrificed Like 
Pawns On A Chessboard By The Global Elite"
by Epic Economist

"Ukraine is home to 44 million people, and now these people are tremendously suffering after being pushed to the middle of a conflict most of them did not want. Just like the average American, most Ukrainians just want a peaceful and comfortable life, but that has been drastically removed from them. We should never forget that a global confrontation of such proportions is not just about geopolitical interests and power, but also about the millions of lives that are threatened by fear, hunger, desperation, chaos, and misery. So we should send our thoughts and prayers for the people of Ukraine because they’re going through a tragedy most of us don’t even have the ability to imagine. And we should be angry with those we call leaders – those who caused this horrifying mess that didn’t have to happen.

There’s nothing – absolutely nothing – that can justify this attack on the rights of millions of people in the name of the interests of the global elites. We must stand against this conflict and we must fight misinformation. In an era of enhanced communications, all of this could’ve been avoided. Russia could’ve achieved its goals in a different manner, but now they’ve started the most devastating conflict of modern times.

But we should remind ourselves that the global elites are also responsible for this. The U.S. government and other western powers have incited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to continuously provoke Russia by making all sorts of delusional promises to him. That led Zelensky to take his chances and go all-in, but the Kremlin knew that neither the U.S. nor Europe would stop Russia to invade the Ukrainian border. Russian leaders have rapidly called the bluff, and as soon as they acted, the U.S. and Europe chose to stay on the sidelines.

Western nations certainly do not want to mess with the Russians, but they surely didn’t see any problem in encouraging the Ukrainian government to sacrifice millions of lives fighting a battle they can’t possibly win. Of course, it was the U.S. government and other western governments that have ultimately set the stage for all of this to happen. Needless to say, none of these global leaders are actually going to fight for their people. They think they’re too important for that.

This is not a battle between the Russian people vs. the Ukrainian people. It’s safe to say that both populations did not want any of this to happen. This is a clash of power-hungry leaders. Just imagine what would happen to us if we were held accountable for the stupid things our leaders did and continue to do. So while we comfortably sit here in the western world, major Ukrainian cities are being destroyed by Russian forces. Millions of people are out in the cold, with no access to food and medicine, and with nowhere to go.

Most Ukrainians never wanted any of this. If anyone deserves such a fate, it is the global elite that actually created this gigantic mess in the first place. Meanwhile, the elites are still thinking that they’re going to be able to watch this conflict from a safe distance. But the thing is that such a big and impactful strife will spark severe consequences that will be felt all across the world. And if there’s something history taught us is that global conflicts tend to spread, and this will eventually deeply affect all of us."

Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, "Moment of Grace Part 1"

Full screen recommended.
Liquid Mind, "Moment of Grace Part 1"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"The Hubble Deep Field:
The Most Important Image Ever Taken"

"In 2003, the Hubble Space Telescope took the image of a millenium, an image that shows our place in the universe. Anyone who understands what this image represents, is forever changed by it."- YouTube/NASA
Full screen recommended.
Full screen recommended.

"It helps to put things in perspective here on our frenetic little planet with a look at this extraordinarily powerful and moving video of the Hubble Space Telescope mapping of the Universe, whose known size is 78 billion light years across. The video of the images is the equivalent of using a "time machine" to look into the past to witness the early formation of galaxies, perhaps less than one billion years after the universe's birth in the Big Bang.

The video includes mankind's deepest, most detailed optical view of the universe called the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). One of the stunning images was assembled from 342 separate exposures taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) for ten consecutive days. Representing a narrow "keyhole" view stretching to the visible horizon of the universe, the HDF image covers a speck of the sky only about the width of a dime located 75 feet away. Though the field is a very small sample of the heavens, it is considered representative of the typical distribution of galaxies in space because the universe, statistically, looks largely the same in all directions. Gazing into this small field, Hubble uncovered a bewildering assortment of at least 1,500 galaxies at various stages of evolution.

Most of the galaxies are so faint (nearly 30th magnitude or about four-billion times fainter than can be seen by the human eye) they have never before been seen by even the largest telescopes. Some fraction of the galaxies in this menagerie probably date back to nearly the beginning of the universe. "The variety of galaxies we see is amazing. In time these Hubble data could turn out to be the double helix of galaxy formation. We are clearly seeing some of the galaxies as they were more than ten billion years ago, in the process of formation," said Robert Williams, Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, Maryland. "As the images have come up on our screens, we have not been able to keep from wondering if we might somehow be seeing our own origins in all of this."
"A Universe of 2 Trillion Galaxies"
"In 2016, a study published in The Astrophysical Journal and led by Christopher Conselice of the University of Nottingham using 3D modeling of images collected over 20 years by the Hubble Space Telescope concluded that there are more than two trillion galaxies in the observable universe."
"In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three billion Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, 2 trillion galaxies like this. And in all of that... and perhaps more, only one of each of us."
- "Dr. Leonard McCoy"

Chet Raymo, “The Sadist Next Door”

“The Sadist Next Door”
by Chet Raymo

“The TLS (“Times Literary Supplement”) had an absorbing review of American Historian Joel Harrington's book on the manuscript diary of a 16th-century German executioner, Franz Schmidt of Nuremberg. Remarkably, Schmidt kept a full record of the criminals he executed, the crimes they perpetrated, and the gruesome ways they met their fate. It is a tale that would chill most 21st-century readers.

Hangings, beheadings, burnings at the stake, and breakings with the wheel. In the latter custom, a heavy cartwheel is dropped onto the person to be executed, who is tied down spreadeagled on the execution platform, starting with the feet and working the way up to the head. There are also less final punishments: floggings, finger-choppings, ear-choppings, brandings, and an ingenious catalog of tortures.

For Herr Schmidt, it was all in a day's work. He might as well have been a butcher, baker, or candlestick maker. He had a family to support, and he was good at his job. His neighboring townspeople attended the executions. It was good public entertainment.

Of course, there is nothing unique to the 16th century or Germany about any of this. Hideous tortures and executions have been part of human history from the beginning. Think of the Roman gladiatorial entertainments with their cheering crowds. Or the public stonings, beheadings and amputations still common in certain parts of the world today. It seems that only in the post-Enlightenment West do we look with disapprobation on Herr Schmidt's trade, ostensibly at least. We have the grisly torture chambers of the Gestapo and NKVD to remind us that Enlightenment values are fragile.

All of which raises the question: Is taking pleasure in the infliction of pain on others nature or nurture? Are we born with a good angel on one shoulder and a bad angel on the other? How do we explain the huge popularity of slasher movies and shoot-'em-up video games? Is there something of Herr Schmidt in all of us?”

"And Maybe..."

“Maybe we’re not supposed to be happy. Maybe gratitude has nothing to do with joy. Maybe being grateful means recognizing what you have for what it is. Appreciating small victories. Admiring the struggle it takes to simply be a human. Maybe, we’re thankful for the familiar things we know. And maybe, we’re thankful for the things we’ll never know. At the end of the day, the fact that we have the courage to still be standing is reason enough to celebrate.”
- “Grey’s Anatomy”

Gregory Mannarino, "Expect A Commodities Superspike, Surging Inflation, And A Prolonged Expanding War"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 3/7/22:
"Expect A Commodities Superspike, 
Surging Inflation, And A Prolonged Expanding War"
Related:

The Daily "Near You?"

Moosup, Connecticut, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The War In Ukraine Is Going To Trigger The Biggest Global Food Crisis That Any Of Us Have Ever Seen Before"

"The War In Ukraine Is Going To Trigger The Biggest
Global Food Crisis That Any Of Us Have Ever Seen Before"
by Michael Snyder

"By the end of 2022, we are going to witness very serious shortages of food in many parts of the globe. In fact, World Bank President David Malpass is openly admitting that we are now facing “a huge supply shock” as a result of the war in Ukraine. Of course we were already moving into a global food crisis even before the war erupted. According to the UN, worldwide food prices in February 2022 were 20.7 percent higher than they were in February 2021, fertilizer prices have gone absolutely nuts, crop production is down all over the planet due to crazy weather patterns, and supply chain problems caused by the pandemic continue to create ongoing headaches. But now World War 3 has erupted, and that is going to push this rapidly growing global food crisis to a level that none of us have ever seen before.

Under normal conditions, Ukraine exports tremendous amounts of food and is considered to be one of the most important “breadbaskets” on the entire planet. Unfortunately, everything has changed now, and this has pushed the global price of wheat up 55 percent since a week before the invasion happened… "Ukrainian farmers have been forced to neglect their fields as millions flee, fight or try to stay alive. Ports are shut down that send wheat and other food staples worldwide to be made into bread, noodles and animal feed. And there are worries Russia, another agricultural powerhouse, could have its grain exports upended by Western sanctions.

While there have not yet been global disruptions to wheat supplies, prices have surged 55% since a week before the invasion amid concerns about what could happen next. If the war is prolonged, countries that rely on affordable wheat exports from Ukraine could face shortages starting in July, International Grains Council director Arnaud Petit told The Associated Press."

I really don’t like that “shortages starting in July” part. That definitely sounds rather ominous. Right now, the global price of food is the highest that it has ever been, and Russia and Ukraine normally account for “nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports”. Now that exports from Russia will be greatly reduced and exports from Ukraine will be virtually non-existent, some countries will almost immediately be facing extreme stress.

For example, just consider Lebanon. The Lebanese normally get 60 percent of their wheat from Ukraine… "War-ravaged Syria recently announced it would cut spending and ration staples. In nearby Lebanon, where a massive explosion at the Beirut port in 2020 destroyed the country’s main grain silos, authorities are scrambling to make up for a predicted wheat shortage, with Ukraine providing 60% of its supply. They are in talks with the U.S., India and Canada to find other sources for a country already in financial meltdown."

Very high food prices caused riots all over the Middle East in 2011, and now we are moving into a food crisis that will be far greater than anything that we experienced back then. Things are going to be very challenging in Europe as well, because Ukraine normally provides almost 60 percent of the corn that Europeans use… "Ukraine supplies the EU with just under 60% of its corn and nearly half of a key component in the grains needed to feed livestock."

Meanwhile, crops all over the world are in surprisingly poor shape because weather conditions have been so strange. Earlier today, I was stunned to learn that it is being projected that China’s winter wheat crop could be “the worst in history”… "The condition of China’s winter wheat crop could be the “worst in history”, the agriculture minister said on Saturday, raising concerns about grain supplies in the world’s biggest wheat consumer."

And the USDA is reporting that a whopping 71 percent of all winter wheat in the United States has been affected by drought… "A limited supply of soft white wheat, the primary type of wheat grown in the Inland Northwest, has helped lead to a six-year low for wheat exports from the United States. That’s according to the USDA wheat report for February. The report also states that 71 percent of U.S. winter wheat is being hit by drought in 2022." We struggle to feed the entire world even in the best of years, and this definitely is not going to be one of the best of years.

Another factor that is going to drive up the cost of food is soaring energy prices. On Sunday, the national average of a gallon of gasoline in the United States crossed the four dollar threshold… "Gasoline prices surged to the highest level since 2008 on Sunday, as crude oil supply fears stemming from Russia’s war on Ukraine increase the impact on consumers at the pump. The national average for a gallon of gas hit $4.009 on Sunday, according to AAA, which is the highest since July 2008, not adjusted for inflation. Prices have been rising at a fast clip. Consumers are paying 40 cents more than a week ago, and 57 cents more than a month ago."

Of course the price of gasoline is much higher in some parts of the nation than in others. For example, at one gas station in Los Angeles consumers are now paying about seven dollars a gallon to fill up their vehicles… "The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose to $5.247 on Saturday, but some gas stations in the area have even higher prices. The Shell gas station located at Olympic Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Mid-City was advertising regular unleaded at $6.99 a gallon. The price for premium was listed at $7.29 a gallon."

I suppose that I should stop warning about “seven dollars a gallon” for gasoline, because it is already here. So many of the things that I have warned about have already happened, and things are only going to get worse from here. In fact, I think that it won’t be too long before some Americans are paying ten dollars for a gallon of gasoline. Would do you think that will do to our economy?

This war is going to end up deeply affecting every man, woman and child on the entire planet. If you were waiting for things to “return to normal”, you can stop waiting, because a perfect storm has arrived and things are definitely not going to be “normal” for the foreseeable future."

"The Whole Problem..."

 

"The Life Cycle of Outrage"

"The Life Cycle of Outrage"
by Mark Manson

"Moment Zero: A Significant Event occurs. Eye witnesses and primary sources break the news. Statements are made. Videos are posted. Tweets are tweeted.

First Hour: Journalists scramble to disseminate news of the Significant Event far and wide. Most of this happens on Twitter, but placeholder web pages are thrown together on various news sites and cable news channels interrupt the latest car chase to give you "breaking news" about the Significant Event, even though nobody has any clue what’s going on. This is the initial viral wave - let’s call it the "Primary Viral Wave."

First 24 Hours: There is a gold rush within the first 24 hours to cash in on the Primary Viral Wave. Thousands of journalists, bloggers, influencers, celebrities, and politicians put out their "take" on the Significant Event. These early takes range from quality education to scummy attention whoring. Pretty much anybody who says anything even remotely noteworthy about the Significant Event immediately goes viral, sees their follower count explode, and gets their tweet featured on news media outlets, who still have no idea what’s actually going on.

24-48 Hours: Of the tens of thousands of "takes" that were posted in the previous 24 hours, a couple dozen come out as clear victors in terms of winning in the attention colosseum. These handful of narratives get repeated and reshared to such an extent that they quickly become the conventional wisdom and basic facts about the Significant Event. People who follow the news closely begin informing their friends and family over dinners and boozy happy hours of what they’ve heard about the Significant Event. This makes them feel informed and intelligent.

48-72 Hours: The Primary Viral Wave has reached its saturation point. There’s little new to say about the facts of the Significant Event which hasn’t already been said. As a result, intrepid journalists, bloggers, authors, and influencers begin to look closer at the data and information of the Primary Viral Wave. And sure enough, wouldn’t you know it, this video is fake! And that photo has been Photoshopped! And that data analysis was done incorrectly!

My God, it’s a scandal! Everything you know about the Significant Event is wrong! The authorities have been lying to you. The mainstream media has f**king duped you. Again, dammit! The fake content and disinformation that inevitably happens during any Significant Event begins to come to light. This sparks outrage and fury among millions, thus generating another viral wave across social media and news services. Let’s call this the "Reactionary Viral Wave."

The Reactionary Viral Wave is not a single narrative like the Primary Viral Wave, but a collection of anti-establishment narratives that are colored by various interest groups and cultural identities. Righties will zero in on how rights and liberties are being violated. Lefties will amplify any injustices or prejudices that are taking place. People who live to fight racism will find racism in the Primary Viral Wave’s narratives. People who live to promote free markets will find overbearing and corrupt governments in the Primary Viral Wave’s Narratives. Like a global Rorschach Test, the Significant Event doesn’t alter anyone’s personal views, but rather merely reflects their views back to them.

Because the Reactionary Viral Wave is composed of multiple combative takes on the Significant Event, people soon begin to spiral into conflicts and dog fights about who is to blame and who is at fault. Whereas the Primary Viral Wave generates a sense of unity and desire to understand in everybody, the Reactionary Viral Wave blows everyone apart and cements them back into their own little tribal camps.

1-2 Weeks: The various competing Reactionary Viral Waves have reached peak saturation within their respective audiences. In an effort to keep attention and interest, various news outlets and influencers have ramped up the rhetoric to 11. Words like "traitor," "criminal," and "racist" are thrown around so much that they lose most of their meaning. The obligatory Hitler and Stalin references are made. Conspiracy theories proliferate. Everyone is offended and upset by everybody.

If anything is true in the social media age, it’s that narratives will evolve in order to saturate as much attention as they can. This means that any take will eventually be taken to its extreme. News anchors who a week ago expressed mild concern about a war will turn downright apocalyptic. Expert researchers who once appeared on TV to give measured advice will be replaced with doomsayers and anarchists. Douchey influencers and television pundits will try on absurd positions for no other reason than it will get Twitter upset and talking about them again.

It’s among this chaos that a third brand of journalist or influencer steps up and essentially tells everyone to calm the f**k down. These influencers and thought leaders tend to be political moderates who publish their content independently so they aren’t beholden to the corrupt economics of the attention game.

These moderate, "let’s take a minute and calm down" voices then launch the third and final viral wave caused by the Significant Event, the Anti-Reactionary Viral Wave. And because the Anti-Reactionary Viral Wave is so measured and cautious to be accurate and fair, it accomplishes what no other viral wave could: it bores people. Sure, it educates them to the point where they finally calm down, but it’s f**king boring.

The truth is, hearing a historian discuss Russian history for three hours on a podcast is enough to show millions of people that they don’t actually care about the war as much as they thought they did. Because there’s very little to feel outraged about here. Thus, their attention moves on to whatever else is shiny and exciting - tonight’s basketball game, whether the stock market is going to crash next week, their kid’s piano recital…until the next Significant Event occurs and they are thrown down the proverbial stairs all over again.

And not only do they go through the viral waves again and again and again, but like a magic trick that continues to put audiences at the edge of their seats, show after show after show, they will continue to be shocked and surprised and scared each time, in the same amount and measure. And what’s most wondrous of all, is that with each Significant Event hip checking the previous one out of the attention spotlight, they will actually forget that most of these Significant Events happened in the first place.

Which is a shame, because if they remembered all of the Significant Events they had forgotten in recent years, they would perhaps realize that they were actually not that "significant" at all. And worse, when something truly significant does happen, it blends in seamlessly with the continuing sh*tstream that is information in the social media age. Until next month..."
Related:

"Freedom Roulette"

"Freedom Roulette"
by Bill Bonner

Buenos Aires, Argentina -  "When an empire passes its prime, it still steps up to the plate like a star slugger… but history serves up sucker pitches. Thrice this century, the American deciders have swung so hard they ended up on the ground. Now, they take another swing.

The madness grew over the weekend. CNN reported that: "The Russian Tea Room in New York City suffers in invasion of Ukraine."

And here’s Business Insider: "A growing number of American veterans are preparing to join Ukrainians in their battle against Russian military forces, The New York Times reported."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has in recent days called for an "international legion" of volunteers, and many civilians from other countries, such as the United Kingdom, have heeded his call. James, a medic who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, told The Times that he couldn't "stand by" and watch Russia's assault on Ukraine. Apparently, James couldn’t just stand by and watch the assault on Iraq either - he joined the attack. But here at BPR, we always favor the underdog, the lost cause, and the diehard. So we wish him well. He may need it.

But when madness spreads, there is no use asking questions or making ironic comments. The worst are hot… full of indignation and righteousness. (James thinks he knows which side God is on.) The best keep their mouths shut. It might be a year… or maybe 10 years… before the question marks come out again. Then, we will ask: ‘what was that all about?’

But for the moment, an ill wind blows and the trash takes to the air. Business Insider again: "A restaurant in France seeks to clear its name after fielding confusion surrounding poutine, its signature dish - fries doused with cheese curds and gravy - and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the leader who announced an invasion into Ukraine just over a week ago. La Maison de la Poutine, or The House of Poutine, tweeted on Friday that it received "calls of insults and even threats" over its namesake dish."

Recall the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ scam of 2003. Americans girded their loins for battle. Contrary opinions – including ours – were unwelcome. France refused to join the war. So, Americans dumped Bordeaux wine down the drain and ordered ‘freedom fries’ with dinner… One of our readers even suggested that the US Air Force – already conducting long-distance bombing raids – might want to drop a bomb on Paris, too. (We were living in Paris at the time, but we didn’t take it personally.) It turned out, the French were right.

Another Sucker Pitch: We believe the US empire hit its peak around 1999. Since then, it’s been one strikeout after another. Eight trillion dollars were lost fighting ‘terrorists’… then, after the Mortgage Finance Crisis, another $10 trillion (measured by US debt increases) was spent making the rich richer than ever… followed by trillions more in stimmie checks, non-repayable ‘loans’ and other jackass programs in the wake of the Covid virus.

All together, US government debt went from barely $5 trillion in 1999 to $30 trillion today. And the Fed’s negative interest rates encouraged borrowing in the rest of the society too – bringing the grand total of debt, public and private, added since 1999, to $66 trillion.

But lo… now, a new panic. A new distraction. A new war. Another sucker pitch. The media stirs up the masses. The crowds in the cheap seats roar their approval. Diners switch back to French dressing from Russian dressing. And here at BPR we aim to do our part, too. We propose to change the name of the old familiar suicide sport to “Freedom Roulette.” Meanwhile, the Pentagon is sending fighter jets. The Biden Team is sending money. Yes, we’re ready to fight to the last drop of the Ukrainians’ blood!

The feds are also fighting with sanctions – aiming to hit the Russian public where it hurts, but most likely hitting our own feet. The sanctions did not aim specifically at Russian energy companies. But in the fog of war, supply lines come undone and missions creep. A headline this morning tells us that the feds also want to cut off Russian oil sales to the US. And India Punchline adds this: "On the whole, the situation in the energy market is becoming very complicated, as western oil companies which had invested in Russia are forced to quit due to the sanctions. These include big players such as BP which has a 20-percent stake in Russian giant Rosneft, Shell with 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-II LNG facility and a 50 percent stake in the Salym Petroleum Development, ExxonMobil (Sakhalin-1) and so on."

Apart from the impairment these companies will suffer running into tens of billions of dollars, their exit will also strain Russia’s ability to maintain such high production levels and continue to meet its commitments under the OPEC+ agreement. Now, the already-tight global market for crude – which saw Brent crude top $115 per barrel in early Thursday trading – can ill-afford these downstream hits from the sanctions against Russia. Evidently, crude prices still have nowhere to go but up from here. Expert opinion is that if oil price touches $125 per barrel, the US economy slides into recession.

The most long-lasting damage to the US will probably come from the holes it shoots in its own money. The dollar is now the Facebook and Instagram of international commerce. It is what everyone uses. But people don’t like being de-platformed from their money any better than they like being canceled or censured by their favorite social media. They look for alternatives.

Most likely, the Russians will find workarounds. Then, the workarounds will compete with the US-dominated financial system and eventually maybe even replace it. And then, with even fewer people eager to finance America’s excess spending, interest rates will go higher… the Fed will print more money and prices will rise even further. Chaos will spread."

"When I See..."

"When I see the blind and wretched state of men, when I survey the whole universe in its deadness, and man left to himself with no light, as though lost in this corner of the universe without knowing who put him there, what he has to do, or what will become of him when he dies, incapable of knowing anything, I am moved to terror, like a man transported in his sleep to some terrifying desert island, who wakes up quite lost, with no means of escape. Then I marvel that so wretched a state does not drive people to despair." 
-  Blaise Pascal

Ahh, but it does...

"Massive Price Increases At Aldi! What's Next? What's Coming?"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures with Danno, 3/7/22:
"Massive Price Increases At Aldi! What's Next? What's Coming?"
"In today's vlog we are at Aldi and are noticing massive price increases! We are here to check out skyrocketing prices, and a lot of empty shelves! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"

"Streets of Philadelphia, What’s Going On Today, March 7, 2022"

Full screen recommended.
"Streets of Philadelphia, 
What’s Going On Today, March 7, 2022"
Full screen recommended.
Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Philadelphia"

"How It Really Is"

 

"Economic Market Snapshot 3/7/22"

Down the rabbit hole of psychopathic greed and insanity...
Only the consequences are real - to you!
"Economic Market Snapshot 3/7/22"
Updated as available.
MarketWatch Market Summary, Live Updates
CNN Market Data:

CNN Fear And Greed Index:
Latest Market Analysis, Updated 3/7/22
A comprehensive, essential daily read.
March 7th to 8th 2022
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."
Commentary, highly recommended:
"The more I see of the monied classes,
the better I understand the guillotine."
- George Bernard Shaw
Oh yeah...
And now... The End Game...

"Nowhere Left to Hide"

"Nowhere Left to Hide"
by Jim Kunstler

"Time, they say, is nature’s way of making sure that everything doesn’t happen at once. If that’s so, then maybe time has stopped because all of a sudden everything seems to be happening at once. Three things, actually: 1) a Russian military operation in Ukraine that a lot of people in America want to turn into World War Three; 2) an epic crack-up of the world financial system; and 3) the breakdown of the fishy Covid-19 affair and especially the story behind its holy avatar: the mRNA vaccine.

In a sane society, that might be enough to trip the institutional reality-test apparatus, but we are not a sane society these days, so we plunge ever-deeper into a hurly-burly of wrongful endeavor vectoring toward self-destruction. The immediate problem is a nation (us) that is powerfully bamboozled, led by a figurehead nobody believes in, backed by a hidden coterie of actors who appear to hate our country enough to try to sink it.

Forgive me for re-stating the premise of the Ukraine situation but one must counter the propaganda emitted like poison gas by a perfidious news media: Russia objected to the expansion of NATO to its very border, based on long-standing prior agreements about it. “Joe Biden” had every chance to formally recognize that reality and stupidly demurred. The Ukrainian government, ditto. Our side (the USA) had already created enough mischief there in mounting the 2014 coup against a government friendly with Russia, and then arming its replacement to harass Ukraine’s own citizens in its easternmost provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk. Two weeks ago, Russia moved in to forcefully correct all that. After all, Ukraine had been a part of Russia since they wrested it from the Ottoman (Turkish) empire in the 1700s, and in any other sense Ukraine is within Russia’s sphere-of-influence, as such things are defined in geopolitical history.

The US-led response to the Russian op was an attempt to dismantle the complex interbank payment systems of the global economy in order to punish one region (Russia) of the global economy - that is, cutting off your leg to punish yourself for walking into harm’s way. The result of that now is mayhem in the financial markets and in currencies, with global commodities like grain, oil, and ores acting as hostages. This hostage-taking has far-reaching effects because the nations of the world can’t operate without food, energy, and stuff to make products out of. Interfere with the rational distribution of them and you’ll get chaos and death.

Financial markets are averse to threats of chaos and death. These conditions tend to interfere with formal promises between parties to service loans, which is the basis of finance. If finance destabilizes badly, standards of living plummet, and pretty soon people are stuck being hungry in the cold and dark - which is the opposite of being happy and civilized. So, maybe jamming an I-beam into the machinery of global finance isn’t the splendid idea it seemed to be a few days ago when the geniuses behind “Joe Biden” swung into action pretending to be super-heroes fighting an imagined nemesis. Standing by to see how all that works out….

Then there is the resolving picture of all the mysterious puzzle-pieces in the Covid-19 story. Sunday night, America’s premier propaganda vessel, CBS’s 60-Minutes, ran a puff-piece on the CDC starring the warm-and-fuzzy Mom figure, Rachel Walensky. It is hard to overstate just how dishonest the segment was, starting with its subtle effort to keep America in a state of alarm (“new variants” coming!), proceeding to a deceptive cartoon of how the mRNA “vaccines” work wonders (“white memory cells patrol the body,” no mention of spike proteins), and concluding with exhortations for Americans to continue vaxxing and boosting up - despite an avalanche of news coming from elsewhere than 60-Minutes about the CDC withholding critical information from the public it’s supposed to serve throughout the two-year-plus crisis, not to mention new data from alt-media on extensive injury and death rates among the vaccinated, including shocking info from the court-ordered recent release of Pfizer’s own records.

Was this 60-Minutes segment corporate media’s attempt to cover-up the emerging crimes of America’s public health agencies in concert with Pharma and media itself? That is, to get ahead of the story, as has lately been the strategy for all the cable channels and legacy newspapers with more and more citizens asking themselves if they have been played? Meanwhile, the Big Kahuna of Covid-19, one Dr. Anthony Fauci, has gone-to-ground, made himself scarce, skipped the scene, vamoosed amid all the new controversy. Word has apparently come down from on-high in the Party of Chaos that his ubiquitous puss on the nation’s flat-screens is no longer helping to sell the mass vaxx directive. Too many people, perhaps, suspect that he caused the whole thing to happen in the first place and then botched his attempt to play savior over it.

It would be a pity for the Party of Chaos (starts with a “D”) and its accomplices in the Covid frauds if the events playing out in Ukraine actually concluded with a reduction of danger and chaos in that corner of the world. It is surely the last thing they want. Yet the possibility exists that Russia will pacify the country, disarm it, neutralize its most corrupt and obdurately degenerate factions, and set it up as a properly governed backwater that will not threaten to upset the peace of the world again for some time ahead. Then, the spotlight will be back on the Covid crime against humanity and the folks who perpetrated it. And there will be nowhere for them to hide….especially with financial markets crashing down on their ears."

"The Price of Oil Spikes and Gas is Headed to Ten Dollars a Gallon"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly AM 3/7/22:
"The Price of Oil Spikes and Gas is Headed to Ten Dollars a Gallon"
"We are watching oil spike in price. We are helpless with nothing being done. Gas is headed for $10 a gallon. Food inflation is over 20%, but we’re supposed to believe that inflation is only at 7 1/2%. The Fed needed to raise interest rates two months ago."

Gregory Mannarino, "Oil Shock! Expanding War; Crude Oil Is Skyrocketing!"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 3/7/22:
"Oil Shock! Expanding War; Crude Oil Is Skyrocketing!"

Sunday, March 6, 2022

"Panic Buying Frenzy Sparks A Rush To Hoard Food And Energy Supplies As Supply Chain Collapse Begins"

Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, PM 3/5/22:
"Panic Buying Frenzy Sparks A Rush To Hoard Food 
And Energy Supplies As Supply Chain Collapse Begins"

"A massive panic buying frenzy continues to spread all across the world. A rush to hoard food and energy supplies has begun as prices skyrocket and reach new historic highs. The ever-growing supply chain chaos is threatening to cause more shipping disruptions in the coming days. In the U.S., Americans are in panic at the pump, with gas prices facing the highest weekly jump in over a decade. Meanwhile, in Eastern nations, people are running to buy everything they can still find in stock amid the disastrous collapse of their currency. From furniture to jewelry to other luxury goods with high resale value, a wide range of products is simply disappearing from the stores.

Some so-called experts say that American shoppers are still hoarding food and energy supplies, such as gas, propane, and other types of fuels, despite the decline in health-crisis-induced disruptions. However, what those “experts” are failing to consider is that the damage done to our supply chains won’t simply fade away as the rate of infection cases goes down. In fact, in every link of the chain, conditions are still getting worse. The American people is finally understanding the importance of stockpiling, and they’ve been buying in bulk whenever they can. And while some may call it ‘hoarding,’ consumers say they’re only prepping for the tough times ahead of us.

With memories of widespread shortages still fresh on people’s minds, they don’t want to be left in such a vulnerable position again. A recent article written by the consumer behavior reporter Lisa Bannon described that more and more U.S. consumers are stockpiling large amounts of food and household goods in anticipation of supply chain disruptions and shortages. That became particularly true now that global conflicts have started to worsen and trigger shipping interruptions, as well as the closure of some shipping routes, and soaring transportation costs brought on by the stunning rise in oil prices.

With energy prices already high, shoppers are rushing to stockpile propane, fuels, and especially gasoline. As opposed to stockpiling food, which takes time and planning, consumers have been panic-buying gas before prices go even higher and supplies get even tighter. Cars are lining up for miles amid fears that prices will shoot up even higher during the coming week. Drivers are trying to stock up on gasoline before the average price of a gallon stabilizes above $4.00. And the crisis has not only sparked chaos in America, but also in the U.K., where authorities are begging drivers to stop panic-buying fuel as gas stations run dry. In fact, experts said that gas prices are on track to hit £2.00 or even more as oil keeps rising.

Meanwhile, a panic buying frenzy is still taking place in China, where food retailers began rationing food and imposing sweeping purchasing limits as shortages aggravate across the nation. Food staples such as rice, fresh produce, meat and pork are still out of stock, and when shoppers are lucky enough to find them, prices are 20 to 30 percent higher than usual. The supply of grains is also shrinking, and with compromised grain production in both Russia and Ukraine, the entire world, including the U.S., is silently moving towards a devastating food crisis. This week, many families in Kyiv have also started to panic buy food and other staples, but most grocery stores were extremely understocked, and terrified locals snatched up whatever was left on the shelves in a desperate attempt to ensure enough to eat during such uncertain times.

Meanwhile, as the ruble continues to decay and lose value, not only investors or rich buyers are turning to luxury goods to protect their wealth. The collapse of the ruble is threatening to wipe out the savings of ordinary Russians, that’s why many of them are trying to buy products whose value will remain untouched during the conflict. Similar to gold, the prices of designer jewels and watches can hold and even increase in some cases following economic turmoil caused by global conflicts.

In essence, all of those waves of panic buying signal that the world’s population is losing confidence and trust in global leaders and governments. They’re becoming aware that no one is coming to rescue them from the mess that those in power have created and pushed us into. Supply chains have been stretched to the limit and the value of our money – it doesn’t matter if you’re in America or on the other side of the globe – will continue to collapse as our resources become more scarce and inflation eats up a larger share of our incomes with each passing month. Those are exceedingly dark times, and we should look after ourselves while we still can."

Must Watch! "You Have No Idea What's About To Happen; It's Too Late, The Economic Nightmare Is Reality"

Jeremiah Babe, PM 3/5/22:
"You Have No Idea What's About To Happen; 
It's Too Late, The Economic Nightmare Is Reality"

Musical Interlude: Ludovico Einaudi, "The Royal Albert Hall Concert" (2010 )

Full screen recommended.
Ludovico Einaudi, "The Royal Albert Hall Concert" (2010)

"A Look to the Heavens"

"To the eye, this cosmic composition nicely balances the Bubble Nebula at the right with open star cluster M52. The pair would be lopsided on other scales, though. Embedded in a complex of interstellar dust and gas and blown by the winds from a single, massive O-type star, the Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7635, is a mere 10 light-years wide. On the other hand, M52 is a rich open cluster of around a thousand stars. The cluster is about 25 light-years across. 
Seen toward the northern boundary of Cassiopeia, distance estimates for the Bubble Nebula and associated cloud complex are around 11,000 light-years, while star cluster M52 lies nearly 5,000 light-years away. The wide telescopic field of view spans about 1.5 degrees on the sky or three times the apparent size of a full Moon."
“When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in an eternity before and after, the little space I fill engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces whereof I know nothing, and which know nothing of me, I am terrified. The eternal silence of these infinite spaces frightens me.”

“For in fact what is man in nature? A nothing in comparison with the infinite, an all in comparison with the nothing, a meeting between nothing and everything. Since he is infinitely removed from comprehending the extremes, the end of things and their beginning are hopelessly hidden from him in an impenetrable secret; he is equally incapable of seeing the nothing from which she was made, and of the infinite in which he is swallowed up."
- Blaise Pascal, "Pensees"

"A Very Fit Consideration..."

“How vast those Orbs must be, and how inconsiderable this Earth, the Theatre upon which all our mighty Designs, all our Navigations, and all our Wars are transacted, is when compared to them. A very fit consideration, and matter of Reflection, for those Kings and Princes who sacrifice the Lives of so many People, only to flatter their Ambition in being Masters of some pitiful corner of this small Spot.”
- Christiaan Huygens, (1629-1695)

"What A Chimera..."

Freely download Pascal's "Pensées" here: