Tuesday, October 25, 2022

"The Irony"; "Leaving the Earth a Better Place"

“How is one to live a moral and compassionate existence when one is fully aware of the blood, the horror inherent in life, when one finds darkness not only in one’s culture but within oneself? If there is a stage at which an individual life becomes truly adult, it must be when one grasps the irony in its unfolding and accepts responsibility for a life lived in the midst of such paradox. One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse. There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions. You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light.”
- Barry Lopez
"Leaving the Earth a Better Place:
A Legacy of Love"
by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM

"It is a great act of love to leave the earth a better place when we leave than which we found her. We inherit this great planet from our parents and from the generations that came before. Then, in concert with the surrounding culture, our elders teach us how to care for the land and the sea, ourselves and each other. They model ways of being in relationship with every other expression of life on earth. But whether they act with care or carelessness, compassion or cruelty, generosity or greed, we have the ability to choose our own individual way of relating with the planet and her inhabitants. From our first breath here to our very last, we will find infinite opportunities to influence our environment for the better. We can decide now to act with intention in order to leave this amazing planet brighter and more beautiful than when we arrived.

If we enjoy environmental activism, we might feel moved to clean up beaches or to plant trees. But, we need not feel limited in our ability to contribute positively. There are many ways to leave a legacy of love. We might begin by radiating affirmative thoughts and feelings about how magnificent the earth truly is. We might create and tend a special garden, one that provides an abundance of food and herbs for ourselves and our loved ones. Or we might create a garden filled with sweet smelling flowers to uplift our hearts. We might even honor the earth simply by trying to be the best person we can be while we are here. Such good will can have a domino effect, inspiring others to contribute in their own way as well.

We spend our lifetimes being nourished and enlivened by the rain, sun, soil and wind. Our experience is blessed by other living beings, from plants to insects to birds and humans. We receive so much; giving back just naturally feels good. When we live our lives with intention of leaving this temporary home a better place for generations to come, we are perhaps leaving behind the best gift of all."

"A Realistic Attitude..."

"It was the essence of life to disbelieve in death for one's self, to act as if life would continue forever. And life had to act also as if little issues were big ones. To take a realistic attitude toward life and death meant that one lapsed into unreality. Into insanity. It was ironic that the only way to keep one's sanity was to ignore that one was in an insane world or to act as if the world were sane."
- Philip José Farmer

"Censorship and Other Such Serendipitous Events"

"Censorship and Other Such Serendipitous Events"
by Addison Wiggin

“What is freedom of expression? 
Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.”
– Salman Rushdie

"Yep, the inbox blew up. Among the more erudite responses was this one from reader Lowell L: "Apparently, any views outside of the officially approved position are still being censored. I tried to watch the video “The Truth About Covid-19” tonight and was met with the message ‘Video unavailable.’” Apparently if you don't go with the approved position, your voice cannot be heard. Whatever happened to free speech and the exchange of ideas? This country has really gone downhill in the last decade or so (maybe, longer). In any case, I was not able to hear what Dr. Mercola had to say. Is there any way that Subscribers can still hear his message? Thank you for any help you can be with this.”

We checked it out ourselves. When the video didn’t load, we have to admit, we thought immediately that Dr. Mercola’s reputation precedes him. We had even joked during the Session that by virtue of being on the show, The Wiggin Sessions would get censored. We did our usual production. And sure enough the link didn’t work.

We are students of irony. This one will go down as an exhibit for our log book. The link didn’t work. Alas… We did not get censured. It was simply a tech problem on our end and not, as one of our producers chided in sarcasm, the “AI tentacles wrapped around Mercola.” Try it again yourself, click here: "Misinformation & The Economic Disaster of Covid-19." (As of 10/25/22 the link appears below.)

It’s a sign of the times that our inbox is filled with messages similar to the one above. Many are less verbose. Most more direct. The majority were confident Dr. Mercola was being canceled by Google, YouTube and other popular platforms.

It’s weird. Joseph is a nice guy. Soft-spoken, even. He has very direct opinions about Google and the “global cabal” but his advice was benign. He suggested the best way to stay healthy was to spend time outside “with as little clothes on as possible” so your body can absorb the sun… create its own vitamin D. How could that be offensive to social media or big pharma? Yes, that’s a rhetorical question. You can write in nevertheless by clicking here.

Follow your bliss,"
The Wiggin Sessions video:
Full screen recommended.
Addison Wiggin and Dr Joseph Mercola,
"Misinformation & The Economic Disaster of COVID-19"
Dr Mercola's website: - https://www.mercola.com
Oh, we know a little about censorship. After 12 years and one month of daily posts, with no warning whatsoever, and no appeal, "Running 1" was suddenly deleted by Google Blogger on Sept.10, 2020.
Posts Since 8/14/2008: 63,149
Unique Visitors 3,130,395
Total Pageviews 8,988,153
374 Followers
As always, folks, thanks for stopping by! Onward!
- CP

The Daily "Near You?"

Cleburne, Texas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

Judge Napolitano, "Playing at War in Ukraine - Col. Douglas Macgregor"

Full screen recommended.
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/25/22:
"Playing at War in Ukraine - Col. Douglas Macgregor"
"Congress should signal its readiness to invoke the War Powers Act, while demanding that the Biden administration broker peace."
Comments here:
OpEd  article, 10/24/22:
"Playing at War in Ukraine "
by Col. Douglas Macgregor

"As the astute author Hunter S. Thompson noted, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Weird is indisputably the condition in Great Britain, where Liz Truss, an arguably empty and talentless prime minister, is out - and was, it seemed for a moment, very nearly replaced by her vacuous predecessor, Boris Johnson.

Weirdness, however, is not foreign to American politics. An indicator of just how weird Washington is becoming is the apparent interest in General (ret.) David Petraeus’s recent suggestion that Washington and its allies may want to intervene in the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

According to Petraeus, the military action he advocates would not be a NATO intervention, but “a multinational force led by the US and not as a NATO force.” In other words, a U.S.-led Multi-National Force on the Iraq model composed of conventional ground, air, and naval forces.

Petraeus does not explain why U.S. military action is needed. But it’s not hard to guess. The intervention is designed to rescue Ukrainian forces from defeat and presumably compel Moscow to negotiate on Washington’s terms, whatever those terms might be.

Admittedly, the whole business seems weird, but Petraeus’s suggestion should not be dismissed. Not because Petraeus’s military expertise warrants consideration—it doesn’t. Rather it merits attention because Petraeus would never make such a recommendation unless he was urged to do so by powerful figures in Washington and on Wall Street. And as Jeffrey Sachs tells Americans, globalist and neocon elites clearly want a direct armed confrontation with Russia.

For Petraeus, it is business as usual. He rose through the ranks by checking with everyone in a position of authority above him before doing anything. Seeking permission to ensure no one in authority is offended (like a “coalition of the willing”) is key to promotion. It works well in peacetime, or during wars of choice against weak, incapable enemies that present no existential military threat to Western forces. But Ukraine is not Iraq nor is the Russian Army an Iraqi-like force, or mounted on “technicals” - pickup trucks with automatic cannon.

These points notwithstanding, Petraeus’s suggestion confirms two critical insights. First, the perilous state of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Absent the foreign fighters and Polish soldiers fighting in Ukrainian uniform, Ukraine has little left to withstand the Russian winter offensives. The series of Ukrainian counterattacks over the last 60 to 90 days have cost Ukraine tens of thousands of lives, human capital in uniform that Kiev cannot replace.

Second, it is the 11th hour. The Russian sledgehammer scheduled to fall on the Zelensky regime in the November or December timeframe, or whenever the ground freezes, will crush whatever remains of Ukrainian forces.

In other words, Petraeus’s real message is that the only way to prolong the life of the Zelensky regime is for Washington and its coalition of the willing to intervene directly before it's too late. The usual war hawks in the White House, the Pentagon, the CIA, and on the Hill probably assume that a quiescent American electorate will buy the argument that the commitment of U.S. forces in Ukraine without a declaration of war could facilitate a face-saving deal with Moscow.

It's dangerous and stupid to think so, and Americans should reject this notion, but it’s not unreasonable to assume this deluded thinking is prevalent inside the beltway. George F. Kennan, American diplomat and historian, insisted 30 years ago that, “We [Americans] tend to overemphasize military factors at the expense of political ones, and in consequence, overmilitarize our responses.” The result, Kennan argued, is Washington’s chronic failure to relate the development and use of American military power to attainable ends of national strategy.

In Washington’s halls of power, the “going in” assumption always presupposes certain conditions: a subservient Congress that will ignore its responsibility to invoke the War Powers Act, unconstrained financial resources for military action, and senior military leaders ready to comply with whatever dumb idea the politicians in charge advocate. For Petraeus and his peers there is also the high probability that some tangible reward is promised in the form of future appointments or financial gain.

The questions of how much ground combat operations in Eastern Europe and Ukraine would demand in terms of U.S. manpower, logistical infrastructure, ammunition, medical support, and evacuation are relegated to secondary consideration. For example, in the 11 months after the landings in Normandy, when the U.S. Army was sustaining 90-100,000 casualties a month, the divisions that landed at Normandy replaced 100-300 percent of their fighting strength.

The commitment of U.S. ground forces to battle combined with the dispersion of U.S. military power at the end of a 5,000-mile lifeline across Ukraine, an area the size of Texas, will unavoidably weaken and dissipate the attacking army’s fighting strength. Finally, Petraeus’s critical assumption that President Putin wants to avoid a larger war is no doubt valid, but this assumption should not be interpreted to mean the Russian military opponent will treat U.S. bases in Western Europe or U.S. warships transiting the Atlantic as inviolate. Moscow enjoys escalation dominance, not Washington.

As noted at the beginning, weirdness in politics is not a new phenomenon. Then again, Petraeus’s remarks signal something far more troubling than mere weirdness. The intellectual and professional caliber of America’s senior military leaders is deplorable. In his landmark work, "August 1914", Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn described Aleksandr Samsonov, the Russian general who at the beginning of the war was renowned as the leading strategist of the Russian Army: “The truth was that his forehead was solid bone, his mind moved at a snail’s pace, and the thoughts that passed through it were worthless.” Solzhenitsyn’s words were harsh, but not inaccurate.

In Ukraine going forward, Washington’s path is clear. Congress should do its duty and signal its readiness to invoke the War Powers Act, while also demanding that the Biden administration broker peace, not expand the war."

"This Can Not Be Fixed"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, iAllegedly 10/25/22:
"This Can Not Be Fixed"
"This can not be fixed. The economy is a mess. We need a change of direction with our Economy. Business leaders are coming out and warning everyone that this only goes down from here."
Comments here:

"Nine Meals from Anarchy"

"Nine Meals from Anarchy"
by Jeff Thomas

"In 1906, Alfred Henry Lewis stated, “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” Since then, his observation has been echoed by people as disparate as Robert Heinlein and Leon Trotsky. The key here is that, unlike all other commodities, food is the one essential that cannot be postponed. If there were a shortage of, say, shoes, we could make do for months or even years. A shortage of gasoline would be worse, but we could survive it, through mass transport or even walking, if necessary.

But food is different. If there were an interruption in the supply of food, fear would set in immediately. And, if the resumption of the food supply were uncertain, the fear would become pronounced. After only nine missed meals, it’s not unlikely that we’d panic and be prepared to commit a crime to acquire food. If we were to see our neighbor with a loaf of bread, and we owned a gun, we might well say, “I’m sorry, you’re a good neighbor and we’ve been friends for years, but my children haven’t eaten today – I have to have that bread – even if I have to shoot you.”

But surely, there’s no need to speculate on this concern yet. There’s nothing on the evening news yet to suggest that such a problem might be on the horizon. So, let’s have a closer look at the actual food distribution industry, compare it to the present direction of the economy, and see whether there might be reason for concern.

The food industry typically operates on very small margins – often below 2%. Traditionally, wholesalers and retailers have relied on a two-week turnaround of supply and anywhere up to a 30-day payment plan. But an increasing tightening of the economic system for the last eight years has resulted in a turnaround time of just three days for both supply and payment for many in the industry. This a system that’s still fully operative, but with no further wiggle room, should it take a significant further hit.

If there were a month where significant inflation took place (The Feds lie say 9.1%; really now at least 17%), all profits would be lost for the month for both suppliers and retailers, but goods could still be replaced and sold for a higher price next month. But, if there were three or more consecutive months of inflation, the industry would be unable to bridge the gap, even if better conditions were expected to develop in future months. A failure to pay in full for several months would mean smaller orders by those who could not pay. That would mean fewer goods on the shelves. The longer the inflationary trend continued, the more quickly prices would rise to hopefully offset the inflation. And ever-fewer items on the shelves.

From Germany in 1922, to Argentina in 2000, and to Venezuela in 2016, this has been the pattern whenever inflation has become systemic, rather than sporadic. Each month, some stores close, beginning with those that are the most poorly capitalized.

In good economic times, this would mean more business for those stores that were still solvent, but in an inflationary situation, they would be in no position to take on more unprofitable business. The result is that the volume of food on offer at retailers would decrease at a pace with the severity of the inflation.

However, the demand for food would not decrease by a single loaf of bread. Store closings would be felt most immediately in inner cities, when one closing would send customers to the next neighborhood seeking food. The real danger would come when that store also closes and both neighborhoods descended on a third store in yet another neighborhood. That’s when one loaf of bread for every three potential purchasers would become worth killing over. Virtually no one would long tolerate seeing his children go without food because others had “invaded” his local supermarket.

In addition to retailers, the entire industry would be impacted and, as retailers disappeared, so would suppliers, and so on, up the food chain. This would not occur in an orderly fashion, or in one specific area. The problem would be a national one. Closures would be all over the map, seemingly at random, affecting all areas. Food riots would take place, first in the inner cities then spread to other communities. Buyers, fearful of shortages, would clean out the shelves.

Importantly, it’s the very unpredictability of food delivery that increases fear, creating panic and violence. And, again, none of the above is speculation; it’s a historical pattern – a reaction based upon human nature whenever systemic inflation occurs.

Then… unfortunately… the cavalry arrives. At that point, it would be very likely that the central government would step in and issue controls to the food industry that served political needs rather than business needs, greatly exacerbating the problem. Suppliers would be ordered to deliver to those neighborhoods where the riots are the worst, even if those retailers are unable to pay. This would increase the number of closings of suppliers.

Along the way, truckers would begin to refuse to enter troubled neighborhoods, and the military might well be brought in to force deliveries to take place. (If truckers could afford $5.75 a gallon diesel fuel.)

So, what would it take for the above to occur? Well, historically, it has always begun with excessive debt. We know that the debt level is now the highest it has ever been in world history. (US debt as of October 2022: $31.12 trillion; World debt as of Feb. 2022: $303 trillion.) In addition, the stock and bond markets are in bubbles of historic proportions. They will most certainly pop.

With a crash in the markets, deflation always follows as people try to unload assets to cover for their losses. The Federal Reserve (and other central banks) has stated that it will unquestionably print as much money as it takes to counter deflation. Unfortunately, inflation has a far greater effect on the price of commodities than assets. Therefore, the prices of commodities will rise dramatically, further squeezing the purchasing power of the consumer, thereby decreasing the likelihood that he will buy assets, even if they’re bargain priced. Therefore, asset holders will drop their prices repeatedly as they become more desperate. The Fed then prints more to counter the deeper deflation and we enter a period when deflation and inflation are increasing concurrently.

Historically, when this point has been reached, no government has ever done the right thing. They have, instead, done the very opposite – keep printing. A by-product of this conundrum is reflected in the photo above. Food still exists, but retailers shut down because they cannot pay for goods. Suppliers shut down because they’re not receiving payments from retailers. Producers cut production because sales are plummeting.

In every country that has passed through such a period, the government has eventually gotten out of the way and the free market has prevailed, re-energizing the industry and creating a return to normal. The question is not whether civilization will come to an end. (It will not.) The question is the liveability of a society that is experiencing a food crisis, as even the best of people are likely to panic and become a potential threat to anyone who is known to store a case of soup in his cellar.

Fear of starvation is fundamentally different from other fears of shortages. Even good people panic. In such times, it’s advantageous to be living in a rural setting, as far from the centre of panic as possible. It’s also advantageous to store food in advance that will last for several months, if necessary. However, even these measures are no guarantee, as, today, modern highways and efficient cars make it easy for anyone to travel quickly to where the goods are. The ideal is to be prepared to sit out the crisis in a country that will be less likely to be impacted by dramatic inflation – where the likelihood of a food crisis is low and basic safety is more assured."

"How It Really Is"

 

"Empty Shelves At Meijer! Not Good! What's Coming?"

Full screen recommended
Adventures with Danno, 10/25/22:
"Empty Shelves At Meijer!
 Not Good! What's Coming?"
"In today's vlog we are at Meijer, and are noticing Empty Shelves Everywhere! We are also noticing ridiculous price increases! It's getting rough out here as stores seem to be struggling with getting products!"
Comments here:

“True Story: Streets of Philadelphia"

Full screen recommended, if you can stomach it.
kimgary, 10/23/22:
“True Story: Streets of Philadelphia"
"Violent crime and drug abuse in Philadelphia as a whole is a major problem. The city’s violent crime rate is higher than the national average and other similarly sized metropolitan areas. Also alarming is Philadelphia’s drug overdose rate. The number of drug overdose deaths in the city increased by 50% from 2013 to 2015, with more than twice as many deaths from drug overdoses as deaths from homicides in 2015. A big part of Philadelphia’s problems stem from the crime rate and drug abuse in Kensington.

Because of the high number of drugs in Kensington, the neighborhood has a drug crime rate of 3.57, the third-highest rate by neighborhood in Philadelphia. Like a lot of the country, a big part of this issue is a result of the opioid epidemic. Opioid abuse has skyrocketed over the last two decades in the United States and Philadelphia is no exception. Along with having a high rate of drug overdose deaths, 80% percent of Philadelphia’s overdose deaths involved opioids and Kensington is a big contributor to this number. This Philly neighborhood is purportedly the largest open-air narcotics market for heroin on the East Coast with many neighboring residents flocking to the area for heroin and other opioids. With such a high number of drugs in Kensington, many state and local officials have zoned in on this area to try and tackle Philadelphia’s problem."
"The 3200 block of Shelbourne St in Kensington is CRAZY.  Dealers/lookouts on both ends of the block. You can hear the lookout shout to announce our presence."
Full screen recommended.
Bruce Springsteen, "Streets of Philadelphia"

Monday, October 24, 2022

Canadian Prepper, "Breaking: US Military on Ukraine Border Will Enter Conflict"

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 10/24/22:
"Breaking: US Military on Ukraine Border Will Enter Conflict"
"Wait for it..."
Comments here:

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."

"Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
- Steve Jobs,
Commencement Speech, Stanford University, 2005

"When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true...

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called "The Whole Earth Catalog", which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of "The Whole Earth Catalog", and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish."
"Listen to me. We're here to make a dent in the universe.
Otherwise why even be here?"
- Steve Jobs

"5 Signs That The War Between Russia And NATO Is About To Spiral Out Of Control"

"5 Signs That The War Between Russia And NATO
 Is About To Spiral Out Of Control"
by Michael Snyder

"Have you ever found yourself completely losing your temper in the middle of a heated struggle of some sort? Whether it is a hotly contested sporting event, an actual fist fight or a bitter battle against an online foe, it can be way too easy to lose your temper. And when tempers flare, you can end up losing control and doing things that you deeply regret later. Unfortunately, the same thing is true on an international level. Russia and NATO have both become absolutely obsessed with “winning” in Ukraine, and leaders on both sides are getting angrier and angrier. And when leaders become extremely angry, they can do really stupid things.

I have been extremely alarmed by some of the events that have transpired over the past week. Hotheads in Russia and hotheads in the western world just continue to escalate the conflict in Ukraine, and we are getting dangerously close to a point of no return. The following are 5 signs that the war between Russia and NATO is about to spiral out of control…

#1 A “Dirty Bomb”? There had been a lot of chatter about the possibility that Russia could start using tactical nukes in Ukraine, and now the Russians are alleging that the Ukrainians are preparing to detonate a “dirty bomb” in their own territory in order to motivate the western powers to get even more involved in the conflict…"Russia’s defense chief on Sunday alleged that Ukraine was preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device, a stark claim that reflected soaring tensions as Moscow struggles to stem Ukrainian advances in the south and is building defensive positions in anticipation of Ukrainian offensives elsewhere.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made the allegations in phone calls with his counterparts from Britain, France and Turkey. He also spoke to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in their second call in three days, but a terse Russian readout of that call didn’t say whether the dirty bomb claim was also mentioned in their conversation."

#2 The U.S. 101st Airborne Division Gets Deployed To Eastern Europe: The 101st Airborne Division is one of the most famous units in the history of the U.S. military, and I was quite stunned to learn that they have just been deployed to Europe “for the first time in almost 80 years”…"The U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division has been deployed to Europe for the first time in almost 80 years amid soaring tension between Russia and the American-led NATO military alliance. The light infantry unit, nicknamed the “Screaming Eagles,” is trained to deploy on any battlefield in the world within hours, ready to fight."

For now, the “Screaming Eagles” are involved in “exercises” near the Ukrainian border, but CBS News is reporting that they are “prepared to cross the border into Ukraine” if that becomes necessary…"The “Screaming Eagles” commanders told CBS News repeatedly that they are always “ready to fight tonight,” and while they’re there to defend NATO territory, if the fighting escalates or there’s any attack on NATO, they’re fully prepared to cross the border into Ukraine."

#3 A Million Rounds Of Ammunition: The U.S. has never armed anyone like they are arming the Ukrainians. If you can believe it, we have already given Ukraine “over a million rounds of howitzer ammunition” since the beginning of the war…"The U.S. has now provided Ukraine with over a million rounds of howitzer ammunition since it began shipping arms to the embattled nation to aid its fight against Russia, according to the latest figures from the Defense Department. That includes up to 903,000 standard 155mm howitzer rounds as well as 3,000 M982 Excalibur guided rounds, 7,000 Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAMS) projectiles, and 180,000 105mm howitzer shells."

And it appears that much more help will soon be on the way. Right now, a new “aid package” is being readied in Congress which would give the Ukrainians another 50 billion dollars in assistance…"The new aid package, which most likely would be part of an omnibus spending bill, could be within the range of roughly $50 billion, congressional aides and a source close to the Ukraine government said."

#4 Iranian Troops In Ukraine? A lot of “mercenaries” from western nations have been fighting alongside the Ukrainians for a long time, and now the U.S. is alleging that Iranian troops have actually entered Ukraine and are “directly engaged on the ground” in an effort to help the Russians…"Iranian troops are “directly engaged on the ground” in Crimea supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilian population, the White House has said. The US government has confirmed that Russian attacks have employed unmanned aerial vehicles purchased from Tehran in attacks carried out against Ukrainian targets from bases on the peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said."

This conflict in Ukraine is becoming more of a “world war” with each passing day. We know that the Russians have been using Iranian drones to strike targets all over Ukraine in recent days, and that should deeply trouble all of us. Speaking of Iran, I just learned that their military has been “conducting large-scale military drills on its border with Azerbaijan”…"Iran’s military is conducting large-scale military drills on its border with Azerbaijan, including practicing crossings of the Aras River, which defines a large part of the border between the two states.

The exercises, called “Mighty Iran,” began on October 17. The exact location has not been specified, but Iranian media placed them in between Iran’s provinces of Ardabil and East Azerbaijan, the part of Iran across the Aras from Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli region. One expert on open-source intelligence, however, analyzed photos of the pontoon crossing and placed it across from Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan."

The Iranians have been getting really aggressive lately. And I have a feeling that a direct conflict between Iran and Israel will begin sooner rather than later.

#5 Relentless Bombing Of Power Infrastructure: The Russians have decided to take the gloves off. They have started relentlessly bombing electrical infrastructure all over Ukraine, and this threatens to create a major humanitarian crisis because winter is rapidly approaching…"Missiles and drones are being used to rain down upon key civilian infrastructure targets – mainly power stations – as the weather gets colder and days get darker. It is believed Russia hopes by doing so they may be able to make Kyiv lose hope and give up the defense on their homeland. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a key advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed there are now an estimated 1.5 million people without power across Ukraine."

Both sides just continue to escalate matters, and it is just a matter of time before someone pushes things a little bit too far. Even now, it is really difficult to see a peaceful way out of this mess. The Biden administration seems to be completely opposed to any peace talks with the Russians, and I believe that is a tragic mistake. If both sides just continue to get angrier, at some point someone is going to be really tempted to resort to nuclear weapons. And once that happens, our world will never be the same again.

Unfortunately, our leaders don’t seem to understand that we could literally be on the brink of a nuclear conflict. They are so determined to “win” this current battle on the global chessboard that they can’t even see the bigger picture. Sadly, we have reached a stage where one wrong move could unleash death and destruction on a scale that most of us don’t even want to imagine."

"Putin Just Exposed The NATO Nuclear Plan And They Are P*SSED"

Full screen recommended.
Redacted, 10/24/22:
"Putin Just Exposed The NATO 
Nuclear Plan And They Are P*SSED"
"Russia is warning of a dirty bomb being faked inside Ukraine and is asking the international community to investigate. And are they? No. Crickets on that front. Instead the West is sending troops closer and closer into active combat."
Comments here:

"20 Big Grocery Stores Are In Deep, Deep Trouble"

Full screen recommended.
"20 Big Grocery Stores Are In Deep, Deep Trouble"
by Epic Economy

"Big companies. Essential products. Millions of devoted customers. It would make sense that the supermarket industry might be immune from the flood of bankruptcies the retail sector has been facing. But that hasn't been the case, especially when you compete with giants such as Walmart, Target, and Amazon-owned Whole Foods. The truth is that the grocery business can be absolutely brutal. And in recent years, the nation's grocers have been dealing with a series of issues that go from supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, disorderly mergers and acquisitions, and huge, huge piles of debt. While some big box retailers recorded massive increases in sales during the pandemic, the same wasn't the case for various specialty grocers that were already on the ropes. In some cases, even with sales booming, liabilities were so significant that grocery store chains had no other option but to file for bankruptcy, shutter all their locations, and lay off all of their staff.

Over the years, many supermarkets have come and gone, and many of them were actually household names at one point in time. But the cracks in our economy are starting to show up everywhere. And the highly competitive environment, its razor-thin profit margins, the crumbling retail landscape and changing shopping habits are making some stores that were once a key part of communities fade away from our memory. This is a tough economic enviroment for all businesses, and the more we lose smaller specialty store chains the more dependent we become from large corporations. This also means that shoppers get more vulnerable to abrupt price increases and are left with fewer options to choose from.

But on top of all of these closings, we might have to say goodbye to thousands of supermarkets in the next few years. So far this year, 1.3 percent of U.S. supermarkets have been permanently shut down, according to data compiled by Inmar Intelligence. But the firm predicts that the number of U.S. supermarkets may decline by an additional 6 percent over the next four years as consumers increasingly turn to e-commerce for their grocery shopping and companies struggle with the soaring cost of real estate, energy, labor, and supplies. In other words, grocery inflation is here to stay, and these are only the very first chapters of a crisis that will persist for several years. That's why in today's video, we compiled some of the once-thriving and beloved grocery stores that are silently going broke, closing up shop, and hanging by a thread as the economy takes a turn for the worst."
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"If A Tree Falls In A Forest..."

"If A Tree Falls In A Forest..."
by Jeff Thomas

"In the late eighteenth century, Bishop George Berkeley posed the question, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" Since that time, generations of university philosophy professors have required their students to consider the question. Countless classroom time has been taken up in pondering it. In many cases, students would be required to write a report containing their answer and they might even be graded on it.

Of course, this is the world of academia, which consists almost entirely of theory, not practical application. But, in the functioning world, it makes not the slightest difference whether the tree makes a sound or not. The lumberjack who actually encounters the tree is unconcerned with the philosophical question. He only cares that he has a tree he can cut. He represents those who produce, rather than those who theorize.

And so it is with the field of International Diversification. It can be described as taking place in three stages:

People Leave an Empire Quietly: Typically, when a country (or empire) has been corrupted by its leaders to such a degree that it’s reaching its sell-by date, some people begin to see the writing on the wall. Although many remain at home, complaining bitterly that their leaders are selling them out, a smaller number of people recognize that the country has passed the point of no return and make the choice to leave the dying leviathan rather than go down with it.

We’re presently passing through such a period in which a significant number of people will be leaving the countries of their birth, particularly those countries that were once referred to as the "Free World." But, this is nothing new. For millennia, countries and, indeed, empires, have self-destructed with regularity and, in each case, those who realise that the livability of those countries is about to end, begin their exodus. At first, they’re few in number; then, as the writing on the wall becomes increasingly visible, more leave. In the final stage of exodus, major events occur, making it blindingly obvious to a large percentage of the population that their place of residence is about to become considerably less livable.

In this final stage, there’s often a flood of people who attempt to exit; however, it’s often the case that, just prior to this time, two things occur:

First, the leaders of the country that’s in decline pass legislation that’s designed to keep their minions in and, second, those countries that previously welcomed a small number of new residents realize that they may soon be faced with a flood of arrivals. They then pull in the "welcome" mat and close the door to further grants of residency.

And, so, those who leave early and leave quietly, tend to be those who are successful, repatriating themselves to one of the countries that’s relatively freer at that point in time. They then set up shop, begin to invest and produce, and take advantage of that greater freedom.

The Exodus Is Not Noted as Having Importance: Typically, when the period is written up later in the history books, little note is made of the exodus. Why should this be? After all, those who leave are often the best and brightest – those who had the vision to see the future. Not coincidentally, such people also tend to be those who come up with the new ideas; pushing technology, investment and production forward. These people therefore tend to be those who create the prosperity that makes a country great.

So, why is this important occurrence so seldom noted? Well, at the time, everyone is wrapped up in the excitement of events that are unfolding in a major way. The news media tend to focus on the events themselves, and the fear, anger and confusion that are generated. The exit of a relatively small percentage of productive people is not as compelling as those who are storming the Bastille or those who are promoting themselves as the next leaders, based upon promises of radical change. The exodus, therefore becomes a marginal event, not worthy of concern or discussion.

No Lesson Is Learned: When the history is written, the focus is on the more exciting events, the names of the primary figures and the devastation that has occurred. And those who read that history, learn only what’s been made available to them. In studying history, we see mentions of the productive class making an early exit in each instance, but in almost every case, this is treated by the historian as a footnote.

This is most unfortunate, as when, for example, much of the merchant class quietly exited Rome in its latter days, it did not merely represent the loss of a body of reliable taxpayers, it assured that, when the most productive citizens had gone, there would be no one to rebuild Rome after its decline and fall. The result was that Rome never returned to its former glory. And this held true for the Ottoman Empire, the Spanish Empire, the British Empire, and so on down the line.

The flip-side of this is that, when the leavers arrived at their new destination, they then did what they’re best at – building, investing and producing. This acted like a shot in the arm for their new countries, helping them to rise up even as their former country was crumbling. And so, we’re presently witnessing the next iteration of that repeating occurrence.

Thousands of people are exiting the former Free World for the opportunity to expand, invest and produce elsewhere on the globe. Their numbers are on the increase and yet, the exodus goes without notice. Like a tree falling in a forest, it occurs, for the most part, unheard. Most likely, the academics of the future will pay it little mind, yet, in any era, whenever one country or empire falls, another invariably rises to take its place. And this happens, in part because a new destination offers the freedoms that are ending in the previous location and, in part because a "brain drain" from the former jurisdiction to the new one takes place.

For the sake of history, it’s unfortunate that this ever-repeating occurrence receives minimal notice. But, for the individual, it’s especially unfortunate, as the historic certainty of it informs us that it’s those who vote with their feet at such a time that create and receive the direct benefits of the next renaissance."

Gregory Mannarino, "And So It Begins! The Inflation Propaganda Extravaganza"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 10/24/22:
"And So It Begins! 
The Inflation Propaganda Extravaganza"
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Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, "Unity"

Liquid Mind, "Unity"

"A Look to the Heavens"

Scanning the skies for galaxies, Canadian astronomer Paul Hickson and colleagues identified some 100 compact groups of galaxies, now appropriately called Hickson Compact Groups. The four prominent galaxies seen in this intriguing telescopic skyscape are one such group, Hickson 44, about 100 million light-years distant toward the constellation Leo. The two spiral galaxies in the center of the image are edge-on NGC 3190 with its distinctive, warped dust lanes, and S-shaped NGC 3187. Along with the bright elliptical, NGC 3193 at the right, they are also known as Arp 316. 
The spiral in the upper left corner is NGC 3185, the 4th member of the Hickson group. Like other galaxies in Hickson groups, these show signs of distortion and enhanced star formation, evidence of a gravitational tug of war that will eventually result in galaxy mergers on a cosmic timescale. The merger process is now understood to be a normal part of the evolution of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. For scale, NGC 3190 is about 75,000 light-years across at the estimated distance of Hickson 44.”

"The Way You Carry It..."

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."
- Lena Horne

Chet Raymo, “Thinking About Thinking”

“Thinking About Thinking”
by Chet Raymo

“It is not easy to live in that continuous awareness of things which alone is true living," wrote the naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch. And, of course, he was right. Our brains are separated from the world by a permeable membrane. Attention flows outwards. Sense impressions flow inwards. Of this two-way traffic- this awareness- we create a soul.

At this moment, as I sit at my desk on a hillside in the west of Ireland, I try to be aware. Sunlight streams across my computer keyboard; eight minutes ago these photons were on the surface of the sun. A Pholcus phalangioides spider spins its web under the shelf above the desk; I touch the web with a pencil point and the spider does a dervish dance. Outside the window, clouds scud in from the Atlantic; there will be rain in the afternoon.

Continuous awareness: It can be exhausting. Which is why, I suppose, we sometimes wish for the mind to go blank, for the windows of the soul to close, for darkness to fall.

Fortunately, the one thing we don't have to attend to is awareness itself. The brain does its thing without the least bit of conscious control on our part. And a good thing, too; if we had to attend to what is going on in the brain when we attend to the world, we'd... We'd go nuts.

Nothing we know about in the universe approaches the complexity of the human brain. What is it? A vast spider web of neurons, cells with a thousand octopuslike arms, called dendrites. The dendrites reach out and make contact at their tips with the dendrites of other cells, at junctions called synapses. A hundred billion neurons in the human brain, with an average of 1,000 dendrites each. A hundred trillion octopus arms touching like fingertips, and each synapse exquisitely controlled by the cells themselves, strengthening or weakening the contact, building webs of interlinked cells that are knowledge, memory, consciousness- self.

A hundred billion neurons. That's more brain cells than there are grains of salt in 1,000 one-pound boxes of salt. A roomful of salt grains, floor to ceiling. Each in contact with hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of others. The contacts flickering with variable strength. Continuously. Unconsciously. Never ceasing. Remembering. Forgetting. Feeling joy. Feeling pain. Thinking. Speaking. Lifting a foot, moving it forward, putting it down again. Flickering. A hundred trillion flickering synapses. Just thinking about it is exhausting.

Neuroscientists are busy trying to figure it all out. Some folks would say that bringing the scrutiny of science to bear upon the human soul is the height of presumption. Others would say that the more we learn about what makes our brains tick, the more we stand in awe at the mystery of soul.

The sheer complexity of the human brain makes any adequate description a daunting task. Which is why some neuroscientists choose to work with simpler organisms- sea snails, for example- to get a grip on the basic structure and chemistry. In recent years, new scanning technologies enable neuroscientists to watch live human brains at work. Active neural regions flicker on the screens of computer monitors as subjects think, speak, recite poems, do math. Continuous awareness, displayed on the screen of a scanning monitor, can look like a grass fire exploding across a prairie.

Still other scientists attempt to model the brain in silicon, building electronic circuits called neural networks that mimic the activity of the brain as it creates constantly changing webs of neurons. So far, no electronic network begins to approach the complexity of the human brain, but the time is not far off when silicon brains will rival brains of flesh and blood. Just trying to make it happen teaches us a lot about how human brains work.

Perhaps the most exciting research is that of the scientists who study the biochemistry of neurons: How do the cells regulate synaptic connections to build new neural webs? One big surprise is just how much of the "thinking" of neurons is done by the dendrites, those hundreds of spidery arms that connect neurons to one another. DNA in a neuron's nucleus sends messenger RNA down along the dendrites to active synapses, where they are translated into proteins that regulate the strength of synaptic connections. Tiny protein factories in the dendrites are apparently key to learning and memory. Once the regulation of these protein factories is understood, drugs that ameliorate some kinds of hereditary mental retardation might be possible. As will drugs that help all of us to learn and remember. Are we ready for "smart" pills? Memory pills?

What all this amounts to is awareness of awareness. For the first time in the history of consciousness, the machinery of awareness has been turned upon itself. As neuroscientists have discovered, thinking about thinking is not easy. Thank goodness we don't have to think about thinking to think.”

"Message From the Future: Your Acceptance of Evil Has Condemned Us All"

"Message From the Future: 
Your Acceptance of Evil Has Condemned Us All"
by Chris Floyd

"Sometime in December 2016, a strange transmission began bleeding through, ghost-like, on various computers around the world. It would suddenly appear for a few flickering moments while people watched movies or shopped on-line or looked at social media, then it would fade away. It purported to be “a message from the future” and showed an aged man who claimed he was a “chrono-quantum technician” whose work had been banned by the authorities “to prevent me from doing exactly what I am doing now, at long last - sending a warning to our ancestors.” The message was brief, but it was usually badly garbled by visual and aural static; it took weeks to compile, through crowd-sourcing, the full text. For what it’s worth, the message - minus the brief intro - is presented below.

“You are taking a path into darkness. It began years ago, with your acceptance of crimes and inhuman practices on a vast scale. In the late 20th century, your leaders once confessed on national television that they had killed 500,000 innocent children with death-dealing sanctions - then declared this atrocious massacre was “worth it.” Yet there was no outcry, no outrage, no uprising, not even a peep of protest. Indeed, the leader who carried out this massive slaughter of innocent children ended his reign at new heights of popularity and forever after was considered a beloved elder statesman. Your next leader lied brazenly to start a war that killed a million innocent people and led directly to decades of murderous instability in numerous countries. He too ended his days in wealth and comfort and public regard. Your next leader refused to prosecute the crimes of aggression and torture openly committed by his predecessor; instead, he continued his practices, enshrining many of the heinous practices into settled law, waging undeclared war in more than half a dozen countries and personally signing off on extrajudicial murders every week of his reign. 

By this time, the moral degradation of the people was so complete - they had countenanced, cheered or ignored so many crimes and so much corruption on so many levels - that they easily fell prey to the forces of fascism, feudalism and lawless rule.  This was the nominal end of your democracy, but it was already deeply rotted from within - rotted by your years of turning a blind eye to monstrous crimes committed in your name by both factions in your power structure.

Because of your shameful acquiescence, your shallow understanding of the forces that ruled you and used you and manipulated you, your bedazzlement by public image, your astonishing credulity at the transparent lies and hollow, sinister pieties you were fed, we, your descendants, have lived in squalor, rancor, violence and despair all our lives, for generations. There is no hope for us unless you abandon your slavish ignorance, your adherence to partisan fantasies about the factions of the power structure that rules you and rise up to overthrow it. Instead bring fearless clarity to bear on the reality of what you have accepted. The murder of 500,000 children. The millions murdered in the wars you started and the wars bred by your wars. Assassination. Torture. Dehumanization and demonization of your fellow human beings, both at home and abroad.

It is your acceptance of these things that has brought you to the final turning point. Now there is nothing left for you to do but resist: resist with all your might, with every means at your disposal - but always, always, with the full knowledge of how you came to this place, and your own connivance and collusion in this descent. Keep this in mind as you fight, so that it doesn’t happen again. You are not exceptional, you are not plucked out by God for special favor: you are human beings like all the rest, and like so many human beings in so many societies down through the ages, you have failed to look your own evil in the eye, you have failed to confront and condemn acts that make you shudder with horror when you hear of them committed by  other nations.

Own this knowledge - this terrible, tragic knowledge - and let it guide as you fight the putrescence that past crimes have now brought gushing forth, and as you build something better in the aftermath. Otherwise, you are lost, and we are lost, the world itself is lost.”

"Sometimes..."

"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

The Poet: A. J. Constance, "All of Us Here On This Spinning Blue World"

"All of Us Here On This Spinning Blue World"

"Let's not plan too much
or expect
or promise
or say how much
or how little
or outline how things must be
or how they must not be.

All of us here on this beautiful
spinning blue world,
let's just love each other
from one millisecond to the next
as much as we can."

- A. J. Constance
Full screen recommended.
The Moody Blues, "Blue World"

"Grid Down, Do This Now; American Workers Are Broke; Civilization On Brink Of Collapse"

Full screen recommended.
Jeremiah Babe, 10/24/22:
"Grid Down, Do This Now; American Workers Are Broke; 
Civilization On Brink Of Collapse"
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