"Global Food Inflation Is Leading To A Frightening Explosion In Global Hunger"

"Global Food Inflation Is Leading To A 

Frightening Explosion In Global Hunger"

by Michael Snyder

We are currently facing “the worst food crisis in modern history”, and it seems to be getting worse with each passing month. I don’t have to tell any of you that food prices are a lot higher than they once were. The last time you went to the grocery store you could see that for yourself. Sadly, this is happening all over the world, and the poorest countries are being hit the hardest. Meanwhile, global food supplies just continue to get tighter and tighter. As a result, global hunger is on the rise. If you doubt this, I would like for you to read an excerpt that comes directly from a joint statement by the heads of the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, the World Food Program and the World Trade Organization…

Globally, poverty and food insecurity are both on the rise after decades of development gains. Supply chain disruptions, climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, financial tightening through rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine have caused an unprecedented shock to the global food system, with the most vulnerable hit the hardest. Food inflation remains high in the world, with dozens of countries experiencing double digit inflation. According to WFP, 349 million people across 79 countries are acutely food insecure. The prevalence of undernourishment is also on the rise, following three years of deterioration. This situation is expected to worsen, with global food supplies projected to drop to a three-year low in 2022/2023.[1] The need is especially dire in 24 countries that FAO and WFP have identified as hunger hotspots, of which 16 are in Africa.[2]

Please take a few moments and read that paragraph again. We really are facing “an unprecedented shock to the global food system”, and these global leaders really are telling us that the situation “is expected to worsen”.

At this point, things are so bad that even CNN is admitting that we are currently experiencing “the worst food crisis in modern history”…"Yet the world is still in the grips of the worst food crisis in modern history, as Russia’s war in Ukraine shakes global agricultural systems already grappling with the effects of extreme weather and the pandemic. Market conditions may have improved in recent months, but experts do not expect imminent relief."

That means more pain for vulnerable communities already struggling with hunger. It also boosts the risk of starvation and famine in countries such as Somalia, which is contending with what the United Nations describes as a “catastrophic” food emergency.

So what happens if some “black swan events” come along in 2023 and make the global food crisis far worse than it already is? In some of the poorest countries on the planet there are already vast numbers of people without enough food to eat. For example, in Somalia almost half of the entire population is in need of “immediate lifesaving aid”…"Somalia is in the midst of the longest and most severe drought in its history, following five consecutive poor rainy seasons, which has devastated the country. Roughly 8.25 million people, nearly half the population, require immediate lifesaving aid and protection."

Sadly, the truth is that this is just the beginning. In my latest book, I explain exactly why conditions will inevitably get a whole lot worse no matter what our leaders do now. Here in the United States, nobody is in danger of starving to death at this stage. But prices just continue to escalate. In fact, the new inflation numbers that we got from the government on Tuesday were not good news at all…"Republican lawmakers slammed President Biden after the latest inflation report, with one saying the president is “living in an alternate reality.” The congressional Republicans ripped into Biden on Tuesday after the latest inflation report that saw prices rise by 0.5 points to a 6.4 percent rate in January.

“Just last week Joe Biden took a victory lap on the economy, but today’s report confirms he’s living in an alternate reality than Americans watching prices get higher by the day,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.

Even though the Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked interest rates, inflation has not been tamed. In particular, food prices just continue to go up and up. Earlier today, Jacki Kotkiewicz posted some numbers on her Twitter account that show how dramatically prices in certain key categories have risen over the past year…

Overall CPI: +6.4% y/y

Fuel Oil: +27.7%

Electricity: +11.9%

Groceries: +11.3%

Chicken +10.5%

Milk: +11%

Eggs: +70.1%

Bread: +14.9%

Potatoes: +12.4%

Baby Food: +10%

Airline Fares: +25.6%

Real Average Hourly Earnings: -1.8%

When I go to the grocery store now, there are some things that I simply will not buy unless they are on sale. Even the price of butter is going up. The last time I was in the grocery store, I spent nearly 30 dollars just on butter. Can you believe that?

Unfortunately, we all have to adapt to this new reality. The cost of living has become extremely oppressive, and at this point close to two-thirds of the entire nation is living paycheck to paycheck…"Rising prices have weakened consumers’ spending power, as inflation remains elevated and the Federal Reserve continues to tighten its monetary policies. Against the backdrop of recession risk and growing macroeconomic uncertainty, a higher number of Americans at all income levels are now living paycheck-to-paycheck.

In a report by PYMNTS in collaboration with LendingClub it was found that 64% of U.S. wage earners are currently living paycheck-to-paycheck. Even those that earn $100,000 or more per year are feeling the financial pinch as prices continue to climb and interest rates remain high."

As I end this article, there are a couple of things that I think that it is imperative for all of us to understand. Number one, we were all warned that this crisis was coming. Number two, eventually this crisis is going to get a whole lot worse. We are only in the very early chapters of this nightmare, and much more pain is ahead. So I would urge you to act accordingly, because the global food crisis is only going to intensify from this point forward."

- http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

"Just A Coincidence?"

"Just A Coincidence?"

"Watch this and have your mind blown. Its like who ever wrote this episode of X-Files knew what was about to happen and was trying to tell us all. Whoever wrote the script for this episode has to be a time traveler or a senior deep state operative who revealed the entire plan just for giggles. NO ONE could simply imagine this in 2016..."

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

- https://twitter.com/

OMG...Astonishing, incredible truth... HOW?

Gerald Celente, "Israel On Brink Of Civil War?"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 2/14/23:

"Israel On Brink Of Civil War?"

"Gerald Celente, publisher of The Trends Journal who accurately forecast the 1987 Stock Market crash, dot-com bubble bust, and the “Panic of ‘08,” said conditions around the world have never been so chaotic in his 43 years of tracking trends. Visit: TrendsJournal.com"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"We Are In Big Trouble, Everything Is Breaking"

Jeremiah Babe, 214/23:

"We Are In Big Trouble, Everything Is Breaking"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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"We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy our economy."

- Chris Hedges

"30 Million Americans Face Hunger As They Can't Afford Insane Grocery Prices"

Full screen recommended.

"30 Million Americans Face Hunger As 

They Can't Afford Insane Grocery Prices"

by Epic Economist

"Can you believe that in the world’s richest country, 30 million people are on the brink of a hunger cliff because they simply cannot afford rising grocery prices? Yes, you heard that right. Nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population is facing the threat of hunger and about 70 percent of Americans say they are struggling to pay their grocery bills right now. These are just a few alarming findings from recent studies that we are going to expose today. On top of that, a warning coming directly from federal government agencies alerts that in a few weeks from now, 32 states are set to witness a massive rise in food insecurity levels, while charities and food banks from all around the country are already preparing for ”worst-case scenarios”.

The Agriculture Department is now warning 32 local governments that SNAP benefits are going to be slashed early in March. Now, 32 states are set to witness a stunning rise in the number of people experiencing food insecurity, says SNAP director Ellen Vollinger. "This hunger cliff is coming to the vast majority of states, and people will on average lose about $82 of SNAP benefits a month. That is a stunning number," Vollinger stressed.

“We are deeply concerned about the impact that the end of SNAP emergency allotment will have on millions of families that needed this critical lifeline for the past three years,” highlights Jerome Nathaniel, director of policy and government relations at City Harvest, an organization that collects food waste from restaurants, bakeries, and cafes.

The changes mean that a family of four will see benefits cut by roughly $328 per month, while elderly Americans who receive the minimum monthly benefit will see their SNAP payments fall from $281 per month to as low as $23, a $258 decrease. In 2022, the average monthly benefit per person was $230.88, an increase from $129.83 in 2019.

Of the 30 million SNAP recipients that are at risk of facing hunger, almost a third of them are already skipping meals, eating less, and going to food banks to manage grocery costs, according to the latest monthly survey by Provider, an app that aims to help low-income Americans improve their financial health.

For their part, food banks are bracing for “worst-case scenarios” as food aid is slashed. Demand is already so high right now that soon they will be forced to send people home with empty hands, charities’ representatives say. With the number of people seeking food assistance rising by 65% in December, and 90% of food banks in danger of running out of supplies due to big jumps in food costs – in a couple of months, charities will have no choice but to turn people away because there won’t be enough food for everyone in need.

Libby Campbell, CEO of West Texas Food Bank, expressed her shock: “I don’t know if we’ve ever seen this happen before, where we have pushed a whole new group of people into food poverty,” she said.

This devastating hunger crisis will leave many to suffer the consequences of a broken society that fails to address the basic needs of its citizens. This is the stark truth of our current situation – a reality that cannot be ignored or dismissed. This is America - where even the most basic human needs are becoming a luxury that most cannot afford."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Horrifying Endgame in Ukraine"

"The Horrifying Endgame in Ukraine"

By Jim Rickards

"In yesterday’s issue, I addressed the biggest and most complex topic on the geopolitical landscape today - China. But today I’m discussing what is by far the most alarming topic on the geopolitical landscape today. That’s the war in Ukraine and the dangers of escalation.

I’ve written extensively about two facets of the war in Ukraine that you don’t hear from legacy media in the United States or U.K. The first is that Russia is actually winning the war. U.S. outlets such as The New York Times (a channel for the State Department) and The Washington Post (a channel for the CIA) report endlessly about how Russian plans have failed, about how incompetent they are about how the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have pushed back Russians in the Donbass, and how NATO weapons such as U.S. Abrams tanks, U.K. Challenger tanks and German Leopard tanks will turn the tide against Russia soon. This is all nonsense. None of it is true.

Reality Check: First off, the Ukrainian advances that took place in late summer were against lightly defended positions that the Russians quickly conceded to conserve forces. The Russians were willing to give up the land so that they wouldn’t lose valuable men and materiel. The Russians withdrew to more defensible positions and have been badly mauling Ukrainian attacking forces ever since. Ukraine has wasted incredibly large amounts of men and equipment in these futile and ill-advised attacks.

In all, credible reports indicate that AFU casualties are nearing 500,000 and are increasing at an unsustainable rate. On the other hand, reports of 100,000 Russian dead are almost certainly wild exaggerations put out by Ukraine. The BBC attempted to verify these numbers and could only find about 20,000 confirmed Russian dead based on extensive searches on funeral notices, public records, etc.

Send in the Tanks — Eventually! What about the tanks NATO is supposedly sending? Well, the tanks have not been delivered yet and most won’t be for months or longer. Our own M1 Abrams tanks might not even arrive for a year or more. We actually have to custom build these tanks so that they don’t have the special armor and other advanced systems that our own M1s have. The Pentagon doesn’t want them falling into Russian hands if they’re destroyed or captured. Besides, we’re only sending 31 tanks anyway.

When the NATO tanks do arrive, they’ll likely quickly be destroyed by Russian artillery, anti-tank weapons and precision missiles. They’re good tanks, but far from invincible. For decades, the Russians have been developing powerful weapons specifically designed to destroy these NATO tank models. The Russians aren’t particularly worried about them.

Aside from that, tanks rely on effective air cover for protection, which Ukraine lacks. They’ll be sitting ducks on the battlefield. It doesn’t really make sense to send tanks to Ukraine unless you send combat aircraft to give them cover (more on that below).

Russia’s Winning on the Battlefield: Meanwhile, Russian forces have nearly encircled the city of Bakhmut, which is a major transportation and logistics hub, with several key roads and rail lines passing through it. It’ll probably fall to the Russians within weeks.

Losing Bakhmut will be a major blow to Ukraine, despite claims in the western media that it really isn’t very important. Ukraine’s entire 800-mile defensive line would probably begin to crumble, and they don’t have heavily fortified positions to fall back on. Ukrainian troops, while brave and competent soldiers, are exhausted and running out of supplies as it is. On top of that, it appears likely that Russia is preparing a devastating offensive with massive amounts of men, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery, helicopters, drones and fixed-wing aircraft.

This Russian army is not the same army that invaded Ukraine a year ago. It’s much better trained, led and equipped. It’s learned from the mistakes it made during its initial invasion last February. Ukraine shouldn’t expect them to repeat those mistakes.

Does all this mean I’m cheering on a Russian victory in Ukraine? No, I’m just observing the facts on the ground and consolidating them to perform an objective analysis. That analysis leads me to believe that Russia will win the war militarily. Western military assistance may prolong the fighting but won’t affect the ultimate outcome. It’ll just delay the inevitable and get a lot more people needlessly killed.

The Much Greater Risk: The second facet of this war not reported in the media, or at least downplayed, is the growing risk of nuclear war. This risk increases with every escalatory step by both sides. The U.S. is the leader in reckless escalation by supplying long-range artillery, Patriot anti-missile batteries, intelligence, surveillance, and now the tanks. Russia responds at each step. There’s a number of steps before the two sides arrive at the nuclear level, but neither shows a willingness to step back.

By the way, Russia has every legal right to attack those NATO countries supplying arms to Ukraine. By supplying arms to a party to the conflict, they’ve given up their neutrality and have become, in effect, combatants. Russia hasn’t done this because it doesn’t want to bring NATO directly into the fight. But legally, it can.

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme: Ukraine’s demands on the U.S., UK and the rest of NATO for advanced weapons to fight Russians know no limits. The West began by supplying Ukraine with cash, intelligence and anti-tank weapons such as the Javelin missile. Soon we were supplying long-range artillery, drones, and more cash.

As Russian advances continued, Zelensky demanded and got Patriot anti-missile batteries that can destroy incoming Russian missiles. The U.S. artillery was aimed at Russian Crimea. Several drones struck inside Russia at sensitive air bases with nuclear weapons nearby.

The next demand for more weapons involved advanced tanks that are in the process of being supplied by the U.S., UK, Germany, and Poland. In the latest move, that comes as no surprise, Ukraine is now demanding F-16 fighter jets from the U.S., one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. But Russia has the most sophisticated air defense system in the world and is very capable of shooting down F-16s in large numbers.

Biden has denied Zelensky’s request so far, but he previously ruled out sending tanks before finally giving in. The same thing will probably happen with the planes. But they won’t turn the tide against Russia. Once these advanced systems show they can’t help, what’s the Ukrainian’s next demand? Russia can escalate just as quickly and lethally as the U.S. This entire scenario is a long slow march toward nuclear war or the complete disintegration of Ukraine.

Is Anyone Really Prepared for This? The U.S. won’t end the weapons deliveries because Joe Biden is afraid of losing face and his closest advisors such as Victoria Nuland have an irrational hatred for Russia and are total warmongers.

Now, we can add a new danger, resulting from desperation. This is the fact that the U.S. itself may be the biggest loser in the war. As Ukraine disappears under a massive Russian onslaught, the U.S. will grow increasingly desperate. Its credibility is on the line after committing so much money, materiel and moral weight to Ukraine’s defense.

The Biden administration has essentially turned the war in Ukraine into an existential crisis for the U.S. and NATO, when it never should have been. Ukraine has never been a vital U.S. interest. But the war is existential for Russia, and won’t give up. Is the U.S. just going to throw up its hands and concede Russian victory? NATO may actually disintegrate in the face of such spectacular failure. So, we’ll probably double down.

Maybe a desperate Biden orders troops into western Ukraine as a buffer against a complete Russian takeover of the country. You can imagine what could go wrong. That situation may quickly devolve into a direct war between the U.S. and Russia rather than the proxy war that it is now. The American people are not prepared for any of this. They should be. It’s becoming increasingly likely."

- dailyreckoning.com

Judge Napolitano, "Propaganda?"

Full screen recommended.

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 2/14/23:

"Propaganda?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each other -

 instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals." 

– Edward Abbey

"Oh Sh*t! Something BIG is Happening and They're Trying to Distract Us"

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 2/14/23:

"Oh Sh*t! Something BIG is Happening 

and They're Trying to Distract Us"

"NATO is on the verge of WW3 while the mainstream media is dutifully distracting us with stories of UFO's and UAP's. NORAD now admits they're not ruling out aliens as possible invaders as they continue to shoot down unidentified flying objects over the United States and Canada. What the heck is going on here?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com

Musical Interlude: Gnomusy (David Caballero), “Dolmen Ridge”

Gnomusy (David Caballero), “Dolmen Ridge”

"A Look to the Heavens"

“NGC 253 is not only one of the brightest spiral galaxies visible, it is also one of the dustiest. Discovered in 1783 by Caroline Herschel in the constellation of Sculptor, NGC 253 lies only about ten million light-years distant.

NGC 253 is the largest member of the Sculptor Group of Galaxies, the nearest group to our own Local Group of Galaxies. The dense dark dust accompanies a high star formation rate, giving NGC 253 the designation of starburst galaxy. Visible in the above photograph is the active central nucleus, also known to be a bright source of X-rays and gamma rays.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111220.html

"A Look to. the Heavens"

“What's happening behind those houses? Pictured here are not auroras but nearby light pillars, a nearby phenomenon that can appear as a distant one. 

In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere. Usually these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground. During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog. These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar. The featured image was taken in Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks in central Alaska.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160208.html.

Chet Raymo, “The Spark of Life”

“The Spark of Life”

by Chet Raymo

"In a previous post I quoted Teilhard de Chardin referring to the discovery of electromagnetic waves as a "prodigious biological event." A biological event? What could he mean? The universe was awash with electromagnetic waves long before life appeared on Earth, or anywhere else in the universe. The cosmic microwave background radiation- the residue of the big bang- is electromagnetic. Starlight is an electromagnetic wave. You can "discover" electromagnetic waves by opening your eyes.

Of course, what Teilhard referred to was the conscious control of electromagnetic radiation by sentient biological creatures. Electromagnetic waves were predicted theoretically by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell in 1864, as he played with equations describing electric and magnetic fields. Then, twenty-two years later, electromagnetic waves were experimentally demonstrated by Heinrich Hertz, who in effect made the first radio broadcast and reception. At Hertz's transmitter a spark jumped back and forth between two metal spheres 50 million times a second. Across the room a similar spark was instantly produced at the receiver. Invisible electrical energy had passed through space at the speed of light.

A spark dancing between two spheres- an unpretentious beginning for the age of radio, television, mobile phones and wireless internet. That first transmitter and receiver had a basement-workshop simplicity about them. Hertz demonstrated the nature of electromagnetic waves with constructions of wood, brass and sealing wax.

Wood, brass, sealing wax and conscious intelligence. Here on Earth- perhaps throughout the universe- stardust gave rise to living slime. The slime complexified, became conscious. Invented mathematics, experimental science. Caused sparks to jump between metal spheres. Sent the signature of biological activity across a room. Across a planet. Across the universe. Prodigious!”

- https://www.sciencemusings.com/

"Once Upon a Time, The End"

"Once Upon a Time, The End"

by Martin Zamyatin

"Those that can make you believe absurdities

can make you commit atrocities."

- Voltaire

"The small group of devoted followers gathered around Chicago housewife Dorothy Martin sat in stunned silence as the clock on her suburban living room wall struck midnight on the twentieth of December, 1954…and nothing happened. Many had left jobs and spouses and given away all their money and possessions in order to await the arrival of alien beings from the planet Clarion, who Martin had assured them would descend at that appointed hour, carrying the faithful few off in their flying saucers just before huge floods engulfed the planet Earth. Finally, four hours after their scheduled departure time, Martin broke her silence.

As the group readjusted their bras, belts, and zippers - having been instructed to discard any metal objects which might interfere with the aliens’ telepathic radio transmissions - their tearful host revealed the reason why their intergalactic rescuers had failed to appear: Apparently it had all been only an elaborate test of faith, and the group’s advanced state of enlightenment had saved the entire planet from a watery destruction!

Surprisingly, only one or two of Martin’s followers were unconvinced by this perfectly rational explanation. Among them, however, was social psychologist Leon Festinger, who had secretly infiltrated the group. Festinger would later write about Martin - using the pseudonym of Marian Keech - in his groundbreaking 1958 book, "When Prophecy Fails." (Not surprisingly, Festinger is credited with coining the psychological term ‘cognitive dissonance.’)

Following publication of Festinger’s book, the group predictably collapsed under the weight of public ridicule. Martin fled to Peru to warn the clueless natives about the imminent re-emergence of Atlantis, before later resurfacing in Arizona, where she joined crackpot L. Ron Hubbard’s nascent pseudoscientific movement, Scientology.

It seems that for as long as people have inhabited the world, they have anticipated its imminent demise. (In fact, the oldest known apocalyptic prediction is depicted on Assyrian tablets from 2800 BC.) In what may be the earliest example in European folklore, a Frankish villager wandered off into the forest in 591, only to be accosted by a swarm of ravenous flies. Overwhelmed, the poor fellow completely lost his mind and returned to his village clothed in animal pelts, claiming he was Jesus Christ, sent to gather his flock before the coming Rapture. (Perhaps resenting the competition, a local bishop hired a gang of thugs to capture the Lord of the Flies, who they rapturously hacked into little bits.)

The failure of one apocalyptic prophecy not only failed to deter its devoted followers but in fact spawned several entirely new religions. When the world failed to end as predicted in the ‘Great Disappointment’ of 1843-44, Massachusetts preacher William Miller’s tens of thousands of followers splintered off to found the Seventh Day Adventists, as well as the obnoxious doorknockers known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. When the next fateful year of 1874 passed without the desired fireworks, the latter’s charismatic founder, Charles Taze Russell, explained that Jesus had indeed returned, but was invisible to all except the truly devout. (Predictably, few dared admit to being lacking in the requisite level of faith.)

The founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, had declared way back in 1832 that 1890 would be the year of Jesus’s long awaited return engagement. (Later jailed for fraud, Smith somehow failed to predict his own deliverance by an angry mob at age 39.) Russell revised the fateful year to 1881…then 1914…and finally, 1918. (The latter dates spanned World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic, events that while apocalyptic for many, fell short of being world ending.)

Our own time has seen the horrors of the Peoples Temple - in which 914 adults and children committed suicide in the jungles of Guyana in 1978; the Branch Davidians, an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventists - 75 of whom died in the FBI standoff at Waco in 1993; Aum Shinri Kyo -whose poison gas attacks on the Tokyo subway in 1994-95 left 19 innocent people dead; and -neither least nor unfortunately, last - Heaven’s Gate, 39 of whose members committed suicide in 1996, fully expecting (like Dorothy Martin) their spirits to be carried away by aliens hiding in the wake of an approaching comet.

It was probably no coincidence that all of these cults were acting in anticipation of an impending Bible-inspired Day of Judgement. One is tempted to blame these kinds of incidents on the delusions of a small minority of misguided religious fanatics, except that millions of people alive today are expecting an imminent Biblical apocalypse. In a 2012 global poll, fully one out of 7 people said they thought the world would end during their lifetime - and rather ominously, Americans topped the list of doomsayers at 22%. Since their government has the means to fulfil their death wish many times over, one can only hope their gloomy prediction won’t one day become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just call it a bedtime story for humanity."

- http://www.321gold.com/editorials/

"Why Dogs Live Less Than Humans"

"Why Dogs Live Less Than Humans"

by Bill Overton

"Here's the surprising response from a 6-year-old. Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little Shane, were very attached to Belker, and were expecting a miracle. I examined Belker and found that he was dying of cancer. I told the family that we couldn't do anything for Belker, and I offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog at his house.

While we were making arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as if Shane could learn something from the experience. The next day, I felt the familiar capture in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within minutes, Belker escaped peacefully.

The boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dog lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening silently, said, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth afterwards surprised me. I had never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I try to live.

He said, "People are born so they can learn to live a good life, like loving everyone all the time and being kind, right?" The six-year-old boy continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do it, so they don't have to stay as long as we do."

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Remember, if a dog were the teacher you would learn things like:

• When your loved ones return home, always run to greet them.

• Never miss the opportunity to go for a walk.

• Allow the experience of fresh air and wind on the face to be pure ecstasy.

• Take naps.

• Stretch before getting up.

• Running, playing and playing daily.

• Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

• Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

• On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the lawn.

• On hot days, drink plenty of water and lie down under a shaded tree.

• When you are happy, dance and move your whole body.

• Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

• Be faithful.

• Never pretend to be something you are not.

• If what you want is buried, dig until you find it.

• When someone is having a bad day, be quiet, sit nearby, and nuzzle gently.

That's the secret of happiness we can learn from a good dog.”

- https://meawsandwoofs.com/

'What You Know..."

"Reputation is what other people know about you.

Honor is what you know about yourself."

- Lois McMaster

The Daily "Near You?"

Lawton, Oklahoma, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

Bill Bonner, "Russia's Shadow Fleet"

"Russia's Shadow Fleet"

600 tankers carry Russian oil around the world, 

India imports 'soaring,' as USA drains its Strategic Petroleum Reserve...

by Bill Bonner

Youghal, Ireland - "How are all those sanctions working out? Bloomberg reports: "Russia Did Most Oil Drilling in a Decade Even as Sanctions Hit." Another headline tells us that India’s imports of Russian oil are ‘soaring.’ And here’s Russia-briefing.com: "Russia’s Rail Freight Volumes Heading East Exceed Westbound Freight For The First Time."

"Russia’s Eastbound rail freight shipments exceeded westbound shipments for the first time in 2022, at 80 million tonnes compared with 76 million tonnes, according to Russian Railways (RZD) Chairman Oleg Belozerov, commenting during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin." The reversal shouldn’t really be a surprise as the European Union has reduced access to its markets by Russia and blocked passenger trains. However, it does symbolize the extent of the ‘Pivot to Asia’ that Russia has gone through in little under 12 months, itself a quite remarkable feat.

No Peace on Earth: These headlines tell us what sanctions have wrought; they’ve caused a “Pivot to Asia.” And now, a whole new ballgame is taking shape. A week ago came a persuasive report that it was the US who blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline…an unequivocal act of war. Then, by the weekend, US fighters were shooting down unidentified objects. One of them floated lonely as a cloud off the South Carolina shore. The others, we don’t know. But this confirms our observation, made years ago, that no sparrow can fall anywhere on the planet without the Pentagon scrambling jets in response. And there’s no peace on earth…or even even in the stratosphere.

More important, great empires gotta go into that good night somehow…gently, or kicking and screaming. That is the ‘bigger picture’ we think we’re seeing. Not only has a 40-year trend of rising asset prices and lowering interest rates finally reversed itself (in July, 2020)….so has a two-centuries trend of growing US imperial power (circa 1999). And now the combination…bad money, bad policies…and the natural tendency of white shoes to look for mud…will set off a whole ‘cluster’ of terrible things. One of them is the creation of a huge new rival – India, China and Russia combined – aiming to take the US down a peg.

Power corrupts. And now the corruption has gotten into the heart of the US system. Here at Bonner Private Research, we admit a prejudice. We rather liked the Old Republic…the one we were born into. It was far from perfect, but it was still tolerable.

The Long March: But we’re an empire now. Citizens do not influence it; they are influenced by it. They do not control it; they are controlled by it. And they don’t use it to pursue their own happiness; they are used by it, for the happiness of others.

The others are the elite. From universities to the Deep State, they form what Italian economist Antonio Gramsci described as a ‘hegemon.’ That is, they all believe more or less the same things…and work together, the great and the good, to make sure the imperial power expands…and rewards them all. And they do this no matter who you vote for. A new book by David Rothkopf, “American Resistance,” (inadvertently) lets the cat out of the bag. In it, we see that Deep State insiders are not about to be put off course by democracy.

Donald Trump was clearly elected president in 2016. The People spoke; the feds didn’t listen. Mr. Rothkopf is grateful to the Deep State for thwarting the president. Instead, according to Peter Spiegel’s review of the book, in the weekend Financial Times, Deep State functionaries “stood up for their institutions and made sure they did the important and sometimes difficult work of governing properly.”

Governing properly means getting the results the Deep State elite wanted. Not what the voters wanted. Mr. Rothkopf was appalled when the Trumpers contested the results of the 2020 election. He, along with almost all elite commentators rushed to tell us how the protestors “endangered democracy.” Perhaps they didn’t notice…or want to admit…that America’s democracy had already been corrupted, by themselves…into a government of the elite, by the elite and for the elite. Americans still vote. But the Old Republic disappeared years ago. And the system of checks and balances, written into the constitution, has long since gone too.

Unchecked Imbalances: The FT review tells us that Anthony Fauci had to find ‘workarounds’ to ‘keep the American pandemic response from veering out of control.’ Then, Fiona Hill, a ‘Russian expert’ on the US payroll, had to prevent Trump from ‘warping American foreign policy.’ Ms. Hill describes how she and Rex Tillerson, Mr. Trump’s own Secretary of State, manipulated the president: “So, we tried to find a way we could work, in some way, with his desire… to have an arms control deal, while still kind of keeping his other impulses [for having a civilized relationship with Putin] under control, managing how he got information and how choices were presented to him.”

So, thanks to these Deep State apparatchiks, we didn’t get an arms control deal with Russia. Instead, we got sanctions…and war. Well done, all! And today, Hill, Fauci, Tillerson…and thousands of others – are not ashamed of having perverted democracy. They’re proud of it. Because they know better than ‘the People.’ It is the will of the Deep State elite that matters. More tomorrow, on what the elite want…and where it leads…"

- bonnerprivateresearch@substack.com

"One Chance..."

“You get that one chance, and damn it, you’ve got to take it! If there’s one lesson I know I will take with me for eternity, its that there are those things that might happen only once, those chances that come walking down the street, strolling out of a café; if you don’t let go and take them, they really could get away! We can get so washed out with a mindset of entitlement – the universe will do everything for us to ensure our happiness – that we forget why we came here! We came here to grab, to take, to give, to have! Not to wait! Nobody came here to wait! So, what makes anyone think that destiny will keep on knocking over and over again? It could, but what if it doesn’t? You go and you take the chance that you get; even if it makes you look stupid, insane, or whorish! Because it just might not come back again. You could wait a lifetime to see if it will… but I don’t think you should.”

- C. JoyBell C.

"'Bomb Train' in Ohio Sickens Residents: Railroad Cutbacks, Corporate Greed Led to Toxic Disaster"

Full screen recommended.

Democracy Now!, 2/14/23:

"'Bomb Train' in Ohio Sickens Residents: 

Railroad Cutbacks, Corporate Greed Led to Toxic Disaster"

"Fears of a wider health and environmental disaster are growing, after a 150-car freight train operated by Norfolk Southern derailed and a so-called controlled burn released toxic chemicals last week in East Palestine, Ohio. Residents reported seeing a fireball and mushroom cloud of smoke fill the skyline. Data released by the Environmental Protection Agency shows the train contained more toxic and carcinogenic chemicals than initially reported, including phosgene, a poisonous gas that has been used as a chemical weapon in war. Officials lifted an evacuation order for residents last Wednesday, saying the air and water were safe, but residents have reported sore throats, burning eyes and respiratory problems, and wildlife has been found dead. 

Meanwhile, scrutiny has turned onto Norfolk Southern, which in recent years has challenged regulatory laws aimed at making the rail industry safer and made mass cuts to railroad staffing while spending billions on stock buybacks and executive compensation. We get an update from Emily Wright, community organizer based near the site of the derailment; Ross Grooters, a locomotive engineer and co-chair of Railroad Workers United; and Julia Rock, an investigative reporter with The Lever."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Jeremiah Babe, 2/13/23:

"Midwest Disaster Creates Apocalyptic Nightmare"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐂 𝐀𝐭𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐫 @blckndgldfn:

"14 miles from my house, in East Palestine Ohio. Norfolk Southern assures us that the vinyl chloride spilling from the tanks of their derailed train and burning and turning into hydrogen chloride as it rises into the atmosphere and mixes with water vapor and turns into..."

o

"Why Is The Mainstream Media Being So Quiet About

 One Of The Greatest Environmental Catastrophes In U.S. History?"

"How It Really Is"

 

"Gonzalo Lira: This Attack, Which Cut the Gas, is a Disaster for the German Economy and People"

Full screen recommended.

George Galloway, 2/14/23:

"Gonzalo Lira: This Attack, Which Cut the Gas, 

is a Disaster for the German Economy and People"

"I have many friends in Germany, says Gonzalo Lira, and none of them have heard of Sy Hersh’s piece about the US blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline. And meanwhile German industry is cratering."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"There is No Fix to This"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, iAllegedly 2/14/23:

"There is No Fix to This"

"We are living through crazy times right now. We have unidentified flying objects all around us. We have inflation, raging out of control and we’re supposed to act like it’s just “OK.“ Get ready for more of the same."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Massive Price Increases At Meijer! This Is Crazy! What's Next?"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 2/14/23:

"Massive Price Increases At Meijer! 

This Is Crazy! What's Next?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"Burger King Bankruptcy.

 Hundreds of Stores Closing. Why?"

What does it tell you when even Burger King and McDonalds are in such very serious trouble? At least the main stream media money-whores keep you informed, right? Right?

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

Moby, "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?"

Canadian Prepper, "Alert! NORAD Over Washington in 24 Hours!"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 2/13/23:

"Alert! NORAD Over Washington in 24 Hours!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Truth About Ukraine's Future w/ Scott Ritter"

The Left Lens with Danny Haiphong, 2/13/23:

"The Truth About Ukraine's Future w/ Scott Ritter"

"Former UN Weapons Inspected and geopolitical analyst Scott Ritter joins the program for a discussion about Ukraine's future one year into Russia's special military operation."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Midwest Disaster Creates Apocalyptic Nightmare"

Jeremiah Babe, 2/13/23:

"Midwest Disaster Creates Apocalyptic Nightmare"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

"Why Is The Mainstream Media Being So Quiet About

 One Of The Greatest Environmental Catastrophes In U.S. History?"

"12 Major Layoffs That Have Already Been Announced In 2023! Worst Job Cuts Since The Great Recession"

Full screen recommended.

"12 Major Layoffs That Have Already Been Announced

 In 2023! Worst Job Cuts Since The Great Recession"

By Epic Economist

"It appears that the tsunami of layoffs that started late last year is starting to accelerate. January was a horrible month for job losses, and major layoff announcements are coming fast and furious here in February. But of course the Biden administration would have us believe that everything is just fine. Last week, the government told us that the U.S. economy “added 517,000 jobs” in January. But as I discussed in previous videos that wasn’t what actually happened. The raw, unadjusted number showed that the U.S. economy actually lost 2.5 million jobs last month. That is a terrible number, but after the bureaucrats in Washington were done with their “adjustments” it magically became a gain of 517,000 jobs. If you want to have faith that their “adjustments” are appropriate, good for you. But other sources also confirm that things have really taken a turn for the worse. For example, Challenger, Gray & Christmas just issued a report that concluded that last month “was the worst January for job cuts since the Great Recession in 2009”…

U.S. companies announced roughly 103,000 job cuts in January, the highest monthly total since September 2020, a Thursday analysis found.

Last month was the worst January for job cuts since the Great Recession in 2009, according to a report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Around 40 percent of last month’s job reductions came in the tech industry, where Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce announced plans to lay off thousands of workers. Many of the companies said they grew too quickly in recent years and must cut costs to boost profitability.

So many large companies announced staff reductions last month, and that trend has definitely continued this month. The following are 12 major layoffs that have already been announced in February…"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Russian Owned Supermarket After 1 Year of Sanctions"

Full screen recommended.

Travels with Russell, 2/13/23:

"Russian Owned Supermarket After 1 Year of Sanctions"

"Take a look inside a Russian owned supermarket in Moscow, Russia after 1 year of sanctions. See what it's like inside this typical Russian owned supermarket. What can you buy, what is available?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

And how are things where you live, Good Citizen?

Yeah, we all know, don't we?

"Is A Wider War Imminent? US Urges Americans to Leave Russia Immediately"

Gregory Mannarino, PM 2/13/23:

"Is A Wider War Imminent?

 US Urges Americans to Leave Russia Immediately"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Land of Forever"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Land of Forever"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"How did galaxies form in the early universe? To help find out, astronomers surveyed a patch of dark night sky with the Very Large Telescope array in Chile to find and count galaxies that formed when our universe was very young. Analysis of the distribution of some distant galaxies (redshifts near 2.5) found an enormous conglomeration of galaxies that spanned 300 million light years and contained about 5,000 times the mass of our Milky Way Galaxy. Dubbed Hyperion, it is currently the largest and most massive proto-supercluster yet discovered in the early universe.

A proto-supercluster is a group of young galaxies that is gravitationally collapsing to create a supercluster, which itself a group of several galaxy clusters, which itself is a group of hundreds of galaxies, which itself is a group of billions of stars. In the featured visualization, massive galaxies are depicted in white, while regions containing a large amount of smaller galaxies are shaded blue. Identifying and understanding such large groups of early galaxies contributes to humanity's understanding of the composition and evolution of the universe as a whole."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181023.html