"14 Ways Official Reports Agreed With “Conspiracy Theorists” On 9/11"

"14 Ways Official Reports Agreed With

“Conspiracy Theorists” On 9/11"

by OffG

"As part of our marking the anniversary of the 9/11 “terrorist attacks”, OffG is going to be highlighting some of the research papers and scientific studies done over the years. These studies have been key in pointing out logical flaws and impossible physics used to support the official narrative.

Our first paper is “Fourteen Points of Agreement with Official Government Reports on the World Trade Center Destruction”, which was first published in 2008. Authored by five key names in the 9/11 truth movement, Steve Jones, Frank Legge, Kevin Ryan, Anthony Szamboti and James Gourley, this paper collates all the statements from both FEMA and NIST that actually agree with the so-called “conspiracy theorists”, and highlights the holes in the official story. Holes that the government experts admit exist. We’ll post the 14 points summarized, and you may downoad the complete research paper at the link above.

1. WTC 7’S COLLAPSE IS UNRESOLVED: The specifics of the fires in WTC 7 and how they caused the building to collapse remain unknown at this time. Although the total diesel fuel on the premises contained massive potential energy, the best hypothesis has only a low probability of occurrence. Further research, investigation, and analyses are needed to resolve this issue.” FEMA, World Trade Center building performance study: Preliminary observations, and recommendations, Report FEMA 403, May 2002.

2. WTC 1&2 WITHSTOOD THE JET IMPACT, AS THEY WERE DESIGNED TO: The WTC towers had been designed to withstand the accidental impact of a Boeing 707 seeking to land at a nearby airport…” FEMA, World Trade Center building performance study: Preliminary observations, and recommendations, Report FEMA 403, May 2002. Both WTC 1 and WTC 2 were stable after the aircraft impact, standing for 102 min and 56 min, respectively. The global analyses with structural impact damage showed that both towers had considerable reserve capacity” “Final report on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers”, NIST, September 2005.

3. “PANCAKE THEORY” NOT SUPPORTED BY THE EVIDENCE: NIST’s findings do not support the “pancake theory” of collapse, which is premised on a progressive failure of the floor systems in the WTC towers… Thus, the floors did not fail progressively to cause a pancaking phenomenon.” NIST federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, FAQ, August 30, 2006. [Online]

4. LOAD-BEARING STRUCTURES WERE NOWHERE NEAR THEIR LIMITS: The core of the building, which carried primarily gravity loads, was made up of a mixture of massive box columns made from three-story long plates, and heavy rolled wide-flange shapes […] The core columns were designed to carry the building gravity loads and were loaded to approximately 50% of their capacity before the aircraft impact….the exterior columns were loaded to only approximately 20% of their capacity before the aircraft impact” “The role of metallurgy in the NIST investigation of the World Trade Center towers collapse”, JOM vol. 59, no. 11, pp. 22-29, November 2007

5. BUILDINGS COLLAPSED “ESSENTIALLY IN FREE-FALL”:

Full screen recommended.

Q: “How could the WTC towers collapse in only 11 seconds (WTC 1) and 9 seconds (WTC 2) — speeds that approximate that of a ball dropped from similar height in a vacuum (with no air resistance)?”

A: …As documented in Section 6.14.4 of NIST NCSTAR 1, these collapse times show that: “… the structure below the level of collapse initiation offered minimal resistance to the falling building mass at and above the impact zone. The potential energy released by the downward movement of the large building mass far exceeded the capacity of the intact structure below to absorb that energy through energy of deformation. Since the stories below the level of collapse initiation provided little resistance to the tremendous energy released by the falling building mass, the building section above came down essentially in free fall, as seen in videos” NIST federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, FAQ, August 30, 2006. [Online]

6. TRUSSES PASSED FIRE ENDURANCE TESTS: “NIST contracted with Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. to conduct tests to obtain information on the fire endurance of trusses like those in the WTC towers…. All four test specimens sustained the maximum design load for approximately 2 hours without collapsing…The Investigation Team was cautious about using these results directly in the formulation of collapse hypotheses. In addition to the scaling issues raised by the test results, the fires in the towers on September 11, and the resulting exposure of the floor systems, were substantially different from the conditions in the test furnaces. Nonetheless, the [empirical test] results established that this type of assembly was capable of sustaining a large gravity load, without collapsing, for a substantial period of time relative to the duration of the fires in any given location on September 11” “Final report on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers”, NIST, September 2005.

7. FIRES BURNT FOR A “SHORT DURATION”: The initial jet fuel fires themselves lasted at most a few minutes” […] “At any given location, the duration of [air, not steel] temperatures near 1,000 °C was about 15 min to 20 min. The rest of the time, the calculated temperatures were near 500 °C or below”. “Final report on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers”, NIST, September 2005.

8. FIRES WERE NOT HOT ENOUGH TO MELT STEEL: In no instance did NIST report that steel in the WTC towers melted due to the fires. The melting point of steel is about 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,800 degrees Fahrenheit). Normal building fires and hydrocarbon (e.g., jet fuel) fires generate temperatures up to about 1,100 degrees Celsius (2,000 degrees Fahrenheit). NIST reported maximum upper layer air temperatures of about 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) in the WTC towers (for example, see NCSTAR 1, figure 6-36)” NIST federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, FAQ, August 30, 2006. [Online]

9. MOST OF THE WTC STEEL EVIDENCE WAS DESTROYED: “NIST possesses 236 structural steel elements from the World Trade Center (WTC) buildings. These pieces represent a small fraction of the enormous amount of steel examined at the various recovery yards where the debris was sent as the WTC site was cleared. It is estimated that roughly 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent of the 200,000 tons of steel used in the construction of the two towers was recovered. […] The lack of WTC 7 steel precludes tests on actual material from the structure…” Federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster: Steel inventory and identification, NIST, September 2005.

10. UNEXPLAINED UNUSUALLY BRIGHT FLAMES AND GLOWING LIQUID PRESENT: An unusual flame is visible within this fire. In the upper photograph {Fig 9-44} a very bright flame, as opposed to the typical yellow or orange surrounding flames, which is generating a plume of white smoke, stands out.” “Final report on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers”, NIST, September 2005.

“NIST reported (NCSTAR 1-5A) that just before 9:52 am, a bright spot appeared at the top of a window on the 80th floor of WTC 2, four windows removed from the east edge on the north face, followed by the flow of a glowing liquid. This flow lasted approximately four seconds before subsiding. Many such liquid flows were observed from near this location in the seven minutes leading up to the collapse of this tower”. NIST federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, FAQ, August 30, 2006. [Online]

11. STEEL SHOWS EVIDENCE OF VERY HIGH TEMPERATURES AND SULFIDATION: Sample 1 (From WTC 7)… Evidence of a severe high temperature corrosion attack on the steel, including oxidation and sulfidation with subsequent intergranular melting, was readily visible in the near-surface microstructure […] Sample 2 (From WTC 1 or WTC 2)…The thinning of the steel occurred by high temperature corrosion due to a combination of oxidation and sulfidation […] The severe corrosion and subsequent erosion of Samples 1 and 2 are a very unusual event. No clear explanation for the source of the sulfur has been identified…A detailed study into the mechanisms of this phenomenon is needed…” FEMA, World Trade Center building performance study: Preliminary observations, and recommendations, Report FEMA 403, May 2002.

12. NIST TWEAKED THEIR COMPUTER MODELS UNTIL THEY OBTAINED THE RESULTS THEY WANTED: The more severe case (which became Case B for WTC 1 and Case D for WTC 2) was used for the global analysis of each tower. Complete sets of simulations were then performed for Cases B and D. To the extent that the simulations deviated from the photographic evidence or eyewitness reports [e.g., complete collapse occurred], the investigators adjusted the input, but only within the range of physical reality. Thus, for instance…the pulling forces on the perimeter columns by the sagging floors were adjusted…” “Final report on the collapse of the World Trade Center towers”, NIST, September 2005.

13. NO EXPLANATION FOR THE TOTAL COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDINGS: This letter is in response to your April 12, 2007 request for correction…we are unable to provide a full explanation of the total collapse” CS Fletcher (NIST), “Response to request for correction”, Journal of 9/11 Studies, vol. 17, pp. 17-23, November 2007

"The Federal Investigation of 9/11 Ignored Recorded, Eyewitness Accounts of Firefighters Who Heard Explosions Just Before the Towers Collapsed"

14. NIST NEVER LOOKED FOR EXPLOSIVE RESIDUE: Q: Did the NIST investigation look for evidence of the WTC towers being brought down by controlled demolition? Was the steel tested for explosives or thermite residues?

A: NIST did not test for the residue of these compounds in the steel. NIST federal building and fire safety investigation of the World Trade Center disaster, FAQ, August 30, 2006. [Online]

There you have it, the “official narrative” condemned with words from the authors’ own hands. Government experts admit that the twin towers were designed to withstand impacts from jets, and did so, and that the weight-bearing structures of WTC 1&2 were loaded to, at most 50% of their capacity before the impacts of the planes.

They admit that the fires burnt for only 15 minutes and that the trusses passed fire endurance tests eight times longer than that. They admit these fires were never hot enough to melt steel, and yet they admit there were unusually bright flames, molten metal and evidence of incredibly high temperatures and sulfidation of the steel.

They admit the evidence does not support the initial “pancake theory” of collapse and that they have no full explanation of the complete collapse of the twin towers, which they admit happened at near-freefall speed. They even admit that their explanation of WTC7’s collapse “has only a low probability of occurrence”.

They admit that despite this lack of explanation, and witness testimony of molten steel and explosions, they never tested the WTC steel for explosive residue. And they admit the government removed and destroyed the vast majority of the steel evidence. Does anything else really need to be said?"

- https://off-guardian.org/

- https://www.ae911truth.org/

Full screen recommended.

"The Demolition of the World Trade Center (The Devil’s Trick)"

The crater in WTC 6

"The Demolition of the World Trade Center (The Devil’s Trick)"

by Mark Gaffney

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever 

remains, however improbable, must be the truth"

- Sherlock Holmes

Excerpt: "On the twenty-second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, more than enough evidence exists to draw reasonable conclusions about what happened that day and who was responsible. Most of the basic facts have been known for years, though unfortunately have not been readily available to the general public.

Way back in 2007, a physics professor at Brigham Young University, Dr Steven E. Jones, turned up critical evidence while investigating samples of World Trade Center (WTC) dust. The samples had been collected immediately after September 11, 2001 from the thick deposit of dust that blanketed the WTC site and much of lower Manhattan. Jones found tiny bits of an exotic incendiary known as thermate that can cut through steel like a hot knife through butter. Thermate burns at ~5,000°F. The main product of the reaction is molten iron.

Thermate differs from its better known cousin thermite in that it contains sulfur which lowers the melting point of iron, speeding up the reaction. The presence of both sulfur and aluminum was diagnostic for thermate. Jones called this “the last nail in the coffin.” (Dr. Steven E. Jones, Revisiting 9/11/2001. Applying the Scientific Method, 2007)

Jones also found an abundance of tiny iron microspheres in the dust (up to .05% by volume), proof that large amounts of WTC steel had melted. The diameter of the spheres ranged from one micron to 1.5 mm. When Jones obtained some thermate, which is commercially available, and used it to cut through a steel plate, the reaction produced an intense spray of molten droplets which cooled into iron microspheres identical to the spheres in the dust.

Other studies of the WTC dust also reported the iron microspheres. (Heather A. Lowers and Gregory P. Meeker, Particle Atlas of World Trade Center Dust, posted at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1165/508OF05-1165.html ; also see Damage Assessment: 130 Liberty Street Property. WTC Dust Signature Report: Composition and Morphology. December 2003)

Jones and his colleagues learned that thermite/thermate can be made more explosive by reducing the particle size of the ingredients. This more reactive variety is known as super thermate or nano-thermate. (Niels H. Harrit, et al, Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe, 2009)

And there were other revelations. It is indeed shocking how far the development of thermate had “progressed” by the late 1990s. Jones & Co, learned that a liquid sol-gel form of nano-thermate can be applied to steel simply by spraying or painting it on. This means insiders could have prepped the twin towers for demolition undetected during an elevator retrofit, a fireproofing upgrade, or even during routine maintenance. Nor was it necessary to wire the entire building. Ignition can be accomplished remotely using a specially designed thermitic match triggered by a radio signal. Once thermate is ignited, the reaction is self perpetuating. (Kevin R. Ryan, The Top Ten Connections between NIST and Nano-thermites, July 2, 2008)

All of this is consistent with the many eyewitness accounts of explosions on 9/11. And it is consistent with the testimony of New York City firemen, first responders and clean-up crews who reported seeing copious amounts of molten steel on site. As one fireman put it: “molten steel was flowing down the channel rails like in a foundry…”

(David Ray Griffin, The New Pearl Harbor revisited, 2008, pp. 31-37; Mark H. Gaffney, The 9/11 Mystery Plane, 2008, pp.132-139; Graeme MacQueen, 118 Witnesses: The Firefighters’ Testimony to Explosions in the Twin Towers)

Office and building fires do not reach temperatures anywhere near hot enough to melt steel which has a melting point of 2,500°F. Nor were there any combustible materials in the WTC, nor any combination thereof, capable of approaching this temperature. Although burning jet fuel has been frequently (and incorrectly) cited as the reason for the WTC collapse, the reality is otherwise. Jet fuel is essentially kerosene and will not burn in air in excess of 1,832°F, far below the melting point of steel.

Not long after the towers collapsed, a hard rain storm drenched Manhattan. Firemen also sprayed millions of gallons of water onto the smoking ruin of the WTC in an attempt to extinguish the fires, all to no effect. This is consistent with burning thermate, which includes its own chemically bound oxygen. This is why a thermate fire cannot be smothered by dowsing and will even burn underwater.

The WTC site was so hot it melted the workmen’s rubber boots. Search-and-rescue dogs brought in to help locate survivors suffered severe burns, and three of the dogs died. Just how hot was the pile? We got an idea on September 16, 2001 when NASA conducted a flyover using an infrared spectrometer (AVIRIS) and detected surface temperatures as high as 1,376° F. Temperatures beneath the pile were undoubtedly much higher. 

(https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0429/thermal.r09.html )

The site remained intensely hot for five months. Molten steel was reported as late as February 2002 when clean-up crews finally reached the bottom of the WTC bathtub. (Jennifer Lin, “Recovery Worker Reflects on Months Spent at Ground Zero”, Knight-Ridder Newspapers, May 29, 2002)

The discovery of thermate in the WTC dust should have been front-page headline news across America, and indeed, around the world. Yet, as we know, the US media went deaf and dumb on the issue. Why? If Muslim jihadists were behind the 9/11 attacks, why would the media censor this breaking story? The only plausible reason for suppressing it was to prevent the truth from emerging about what actually happened. Blanket censorship has been the rule, ever since."

Full article here:

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

- https://www.unz.com/

Hat tip to The Burning Platform for this material.

o

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"12 Major Retailers Are Absolutely Falling Apart In 2023"

Full screen recommended.

The Final Economy, 9/10/23

"12 Major Retailers Are Absolutely Falling Apart In 2023"

"This year is shaping up to be the worst for bankruptcies since the turmoil of 2020, with familiar names vanishing from the market. The decline in foot traffic, especially in urban areas, has dealt a severe blow to the once-mighty players. With consumers tightening their purse strings and the specter of a recession looming, the Sales graveyard may expand further. The question now is, which brands will be the next to succumb to the unforgiving retail landscape in 2023?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"The Fierce Urgency Of Now..."

"The Brutal Truth About Violence When The SHTF"

"The Brutal Truth About Violence When The SHTF"

Selco interviewed by Daisy Luther

"Are you prepared for the extreme violence that is likely to come your way if the SHTF? No matter what your plan is, it’s entirely probable that at some point, you’ll be the victim of violence or have to perpetrate violence to survive. As always, Selco is our go-to guy on SHTF reality checks and this thought-provoking interview will shake you to your core.

If you don’t know Selco, he’s from Bosnia and he lived through a year in a city that was blockaded with no utilities, no deliveries of supplies, and no services. In his interviews, he shares what the scenarios the rest of us theorize about were REALLY like. He mentioned to me recently that most folks aren’t prepared for the violence that is part and parcel of a collapse, which brings us to today’s interview.

How prevalent was violence when the SHTF in Bosnia? It was wartime and chaos, from all conflicts in those years in the Balkan region Bosnian conflict was most brutal because of multiple reasons, historical, political and other. To simplify the explanation why violence was common and very brutal, you need to picture a situation where you are “bombarded” with huge amount of information (propaganda) which instills in you very strong feelings of fear and hate. Out of fear and hate, violence grows easy and fast, and over the very short period of time you see how people around you (including you) do things that you could not imagine before.

I can say that violence was almost an everyday thing in the whole spectrum of different activities because it was a fight for survival. Again, whenever (and wherever) you put people in a region without enough resources, you can expect violence.

We were living a normal life, and then suddenly we were thrown in a way of living where if you could not “negotiate” something with someone, you solve the problem by launching a rocket from an RPG through the window of his living room. Hate stripped down the layers of humanity and suddenly it was “normal” to level an apartment building with people inside with shells from a tank or form private prisons with imprisoned civilians for slave work or sex slaves.

Nothing that I saw or read before could have prepared me for the level of violence and blindness to it, for the lives of kids, elders, civilians, and the innocent. Again, the thing that is important for readers is that we were a modern society one day, and then in few weeks it turned into carnage. Do not make the mistake of saying “it cannot happen here” because I made that mistake too. Do not underestimate power of propaganda, fear, hate, and the lowest human instincts, no matter how modern and good your society is right now and how deeply you believe that “it can not happen here”.

I’ve mentioned warlords and gangs in several of my articles. Were they responsible for the majority of the violence or was it hungry families? Fighting of the armies through the whole period of war brings violence in terms of constant shelling from a distance from different kind of weapons. For example a few multiple rocket launchers (VBR) could bring in 30 seconds the destruction in an area of 3-4 apartment buildings, and being there in that moment and surviving it gives you a completely new view on life. Snipers were a constant threat and over time you simply grow a way of living that you constant scan area in front of you where your next steps gonna be. Are you gonna be visible and from where? Etc.

Most brutal violence was actually lawlessness and complete lack of order between different factions and militias, so in some periods there were militias or gangs who simply ruled the cities or part of the city where they were absolutely masters of everything in terms of deciding of taking someone’s life. In lawlessness, you as one person could be really small and not interesting, or join some bigger group of people to be stronger, some family or militia or gang.

An example of a gang would be group of people of some 300 or 500 people who “officially” were a unit or militia and operate for some faction, but in reality they operate mostly for themselves. That included owning part of the black market, having prison (for forced labor or ransom), attacking people and houses for resources, smuggling people from dangerous areas. Violence from those kinds of group was the most immediate violence, the most visible in terms of SHTF talking. If those people came on your door you could obey, fight, or negotiate, but mostly you could not not ask for help from any kind of authority, because there was no real authority.

In any society, no matter where you are living, there are a great number of people who are waiting for the SHTF to go out and do violent things. Small time criminals or simply violent persons who are not openly violent because system is there to punish them for that. It is like that. Some gang leaders that I knew were actually completely sick people with a strange type of charisma that makes people follow them, weird situations that can happen only in a real collapse. They are people who just waited for their time to rise. Those kinds of people together with criminal organization that are already there in any city in the world will be the backbone of SHTF gangs.

Who were the most likely victims? A very simple answer would be that the most likely victims were people who had interesting things without enough defense. But it was not always that simple. For example one of the first houses that got raided in my neighborhood, right at the beginning of collapse while there was still some kind of order, was a rich family’s home. They had a nice house with bars on the windows, a pretty good setup for defense, and they had enough people inside so they could give pretty good resistance to the mob. But they got raided simply because they were known that they are rich, so they were attacked with enough force to be overwhelmed.

It was not only about how much manpower you had and how well-organized defense of your home was, it was also about how juicy a target you were. If you are faced with 150 angry people attacking your home because they are sure you have good stuff inside your chances are low, no matter how good and tough you are. People who were alone were a pretty easy target and old people without support of family or friends.

It was not always about killing someone or violence. For example, if you were alone and without resources but you had something else valuable like some kind of skill or knowledge you could easily be “recruited” for some faction or group, not by your will of course.

What were some ways to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of violence? How do you recommend that people prepare themselves for the possibility of violence? It can be done in steps, or in layers:

• Do not be interesting (or attract attention) when the SHTF. This means a lot of things, for this article I can give a few examples with shortened explanations because it is a huge topic:

• Do not look like a prepper (before or after SHTF). There is no sense in announcing that you are prepping for EMP, civil collapse, apocalypse, or whatever. With that you are risking the probability that when the SHTF, people will remember that you have interesting things in your home. Your home should look ordinary. For example, if you are living in the city on a street where all houses look similar, there is not much sense in making your home look like a fortress. You’ll just attract attention.

Your defense should be based on more subtle means. Some examples are having means to reinforce doors and windows quickly when you need it, or to reinforce them from inside. Make changes in your yard to funnel possible attackers where you want them to be (trees, fence, bush…). You can make your home look abandoned or already looted.

• Think about what survival is! Survival is about staying alive, it is not about being comfortable at the expense of losing your life. I have seen many times people lose their lives simply because they were too attached to their belongings (house, car, land, goods…) so they simply did not want to leave something and run in a particular moment.

• Everything can be earned and bought again except life. Forget about statements like “I will defend it with my life” or “over my dead body” or similar because the real SHTF is usually not heroic or noble. It is hard and brutal. When you are gone you are gone and there might be nobody to take care of your family just because you have been stubborn or trusted in movies when it came to violence. To rephrase it: Be ready to leave your home in a split second if that means you and your family will survive, no matter how many good things you have stored there.

• Be mentally ready for violence: In a way, it is impossible to be ready for violence, especially widespread violence when the SHTF, but you can minimize shock when that happens with some things. If you are not familiar with what violence is, you can try to get yourself close” to it today (in normal times). It can be done, for example, by doing some voluntary work for example in a local hospital, ER or similar… or simply by working with homeless people. Sounds maybe strange but activities like this can get you a bit of a feeling of what it is all about, not to mention that you can learn some practical and useful skills for SHTF.

• Have means and skills (physically) to defend – or to do violence: No matter how old or young you are, your gender or religion I assure you that you are capable of doing violence. It is only a matter of the situation and how far you are going to be pushed. It is not just “some people are capable of violence.” Everybody is capable. Not everybody enjoys doing it or is willing to do it so easily.

In today (normal times) you can learn some violence skills and you should do it, again no matter if you are a woman or old or young. You should own a weapon and know how to use it. You should practice with it, or have at least some basic knowledge about hand-to-hand combat. The worst case scenario is to have a weapon that you try for the first time when SHTF. Be familiar with your means for defense, let your family members know what they need to do in case of attack of your home, have plan, and go through it. Only through practice will you minimize chances for mistakes.

• Use common sense: I know lot of survivalists almost dream about how they are going to use weapons against bad guys when SHTF, and that they will be something like super heroes from movies, saving innocents and killing villains. Truth is that in a real collapse, a lot of things are kind of blurred and you are not sure who the bad guys are. Good guys turn out to be lunatic gang members who want to bring food to their kids. There are no super heroes when SHTF, and if some of them show up they end up dead quickly.

There is only you and your skills and mindset and what you prepared. Use violence as a last resort because of the simple fact that by using violence you are risking of getting killed or hurt. Remember when SHTF there is maybe no doctor or hospital to take care of your wound. It is a time when even a small cut can eventually kill you through infection and lack of proper care.

Reader questions:

"I’m a single mom with a household full of girls. In an SHTF situation, what would our best strategies be to remain safe?" Just like I have mentioned before, strategy is always same for any part of survival, and shooting from the rifle is pretty similar no matter are you man or woman. Being single mom with household full of girls on first look make you as a ideal target in some situations, but we are talking here in prepper terms so there is no reason not to be perfectly well prepared as a single mom with girls.

But yes I admit it is not perfect situation, even if you are prepared well, some things are sure, you need to connect with other people even more. House with couple of girls will always look like easy prey for some people. It is like that.

"Were people in the city safer than people in the country? Can you tell us more about rural living during this time?" In my case definitely no. In the essence it always come to the resources and people. City meant more people less resources, country (rural) meant less people more resources, and because that level of violence simply was lower. That was most important reason.

There are few more reasons why it was much better in the country. People in the country (rural settings) were much more “connected to ground” they were more tough if you like, they grew their own food, had cattle, lived more simple life prior SHTF and when everything collapsed they had less problems getting use to it. Yes they also did not have electricity and phones, running water or connection to other places but they adapted easier to the new life because they had more useful skills then people in the city. Life was harder for them too than prior to the collapse, but they had means to get resources: land, woods, river…

Another thing is that people in small rural communities “in the country” were more connected to each other, people knew their neighborhood and some things were easier to organize, like community security watch, help in case of diseases and similar.

"What types of weapons did people have for self-defense?" It was different political system prior the collapse where it was not so usual to own a weapon legally. And to own one illegally could mean a lot of troubles. Right prior to SHTF, it became possible to buy different weapons on the black market but still, a majority of people did not own weapons. When it all collapsed, it was possible to get a weapon through trade.

Because of the military doctrine here prior to the collapse, we used “East Bloc” weapons. A favorite was AK-47 in all different kind of editions, or older weapons like M-48 rifle, SKS rifle, 22 and similar. People used what they had, so in one period you would be lucky if you had any kind of pistol and knife. Later through the different channels weapon become more available so people had them more. A lot of that was actually junk that some warlords somehow “imported”. Weapons 50-60 years old without proper ammunition, or not in operating condition. A lot of people simply did not have a clue how to use any kind of weapon so a lot of accidental deaths happened.

I remember people storming abandoned army barracks that was mostly looted, but they found in one building a lot of RPGs while other part of the same building was burning. Two guys were trying to figure out a single-use RPG, and while they were messing with it clearly not knowing how that thing worked, they accidentally armed it and launched a rocket that flew through the crowd, not hurting anyone and exploding in wall 100 meters from where they stood. They were smiling, clearly happy because they thought they figured out how that thing worked.

"What weapons do you suggest to have for SHTF?" It is a never-ending discussion and a favorite prepper topic, and I must say that whole discussion is overrated. I have used them in a real situation, and tried and tested lot of different kind of weapons and what works for me may simply not work for you. For example, here for me good choice is AK-47 rifle, maybe for you wherever you are it is very bad choice.

Good advice is: you need to have a weapon that most people have around you because of multiple reasons: spare parts, repairing, ammunition availability, possibility that you can pick that rifle from other people and you know how to use it. What caliber and similar is a matter of discussion again. I am talking from the point of owning a rifle. Another thing is that you need to know how that weapon works. Luckily, most of my readers live in an area where gun laws are great comparing to region where I am. You have much more choices when it comes to owning a weapon and practicing with it. Use that.

And do not forget that using a weapon in a real life situation is not like shooting at beer bottles with your friends after a barbecue. In real life you might be in a situation to use a weapon while you are tired, dirty, and hungry and while someone is screaming next to you. It is going to be maybe when you are not ready to do that, maybe in pitch dark, maybe after you have been awake for 48 hours. At least think about that.

"When should you use violence?" Contrary to some popular beliefs in the prepper community, the point is to use violence only as a last solution. The reason is as I mentioned already, the risk that you can be hurt or killed too, but also once you do violence you change your own rules, or push it more forward, and it is easy to get lost in violence. There are consequences to that, and you are not going to be the same person ever again.

Violence is a tool, not a toy. You need to know how to use it as best as possible, but also to avoid using it when it is not necessary. It is a good idea to set up a clear set of rules (mentally too) when you are gonna use violence and to try to stick to it. For example you will use weapon if someone tries to break your home and attack you, and you need to be ready to do that without hesitation.

"What else should we know about post-collapse violence?" Think with your head and research. One thing that is absolutely important when it comes to understanding how violent it is going to be and what can you expect in your own case of SHTF, is to understand how much media can influence people in making their decisions about violence.

In my case, the media built up situation where people feared so much from other people that they actually hated them. They hated them so much that they actually strip them down from humanity. In a real-life example, it works in a way that people killed other people, including kids and women, because they hated them so much because media told them.

It may look ridiculous and not possible to you, and you might again think “that can not happen here” but please trust your own resources, look for independent information, not mainstream media, in order to get the right information about what is really happening in the beginning of collapse. Do not be pulled into “popular opinion” just because the “man from TV” (whoever he might be) told you so. It is easier today. Because of the internet, you have much more choices for correct information than in my time. But still be careful, you might find yourself rioting together with 500 people just because you trusted some media."

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

"More information about Selco: Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution. In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today. He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations like Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months. Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world."

Read more of Selco’s articles here: 

- https://shtfschool.com/blog/

Jeremiah Babe, 9/10/23

Jeremiah Babe, 9/10/23

"Bill Holter Sits Down And Gives The Horrific Reality

 Of The Coming Collapse - Thinks Are Not Normal"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Canadian Prepper, "This WILL Happen"

Canadian Prepper, 9/10/23

"This WILL Happen"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

City Prepping. 9/10/23

"Urban Survival Guide: Navigating Crises in the City"

We live in an era of polycrisis: a time when multiple events could leave entire communities on their own.  Are you prepared?  In this video, we'll explain how. Download the Start Preparing! Survival Guide here: https://cityprepping.tv/38C5Ftt 

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"15 Fast Food Chains That Are Seriously Struggling Right Now"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 9/10/23

"15 Fast Food Chains That Are 

Seriously Struggling Right Now"

"Even when we're in good times, managing a restaurant is tough. Profit margins are so slim that any small change in the price of supplies, wages, or operational costs can put even the finest of establishments in the red. In recent years, several chains have been coping with rising food prices, declining foot traffic, and higher taxes, and the downturn now unfolding in the industry has shown that even the most established brands can go from heaven to hell with shocking speed. In this highly competitive environment, many companies that are barely afloat may sink before we even notice.

For instance, fast-casual seafood options are not easy to find and unfortunately, may become even harder to come by as Red Lobster faces growing challenges to recover its financial stability. Problems caused by lower supplies and steady demand as well as rising labor and operational costs are disrupting the all-you-can-eat popcorn shrimp empire in the worst possible way. Last year, it predicted a loss of $10.4 million, but it ended up losing $15.3 million in a single quarter. Thai Union Group, who bought the chain in 2020, is trying to improve the restaurant's menu to keep up with consumer trends, but about 100 locations are at risk of being shuttered because they are "no longer viable for Red Lobster," according to the company's executives.

Likewise, there are many reasons why Buffalo Wild Wings is struggling. Although the chain seems to have all the elements of a successful restaurant, such as fun foods, sports, and cozy spots to hang out with friends, profitability has been an issue for years. That led shareholders to pressure the company into selling underperforming locations to franchisees. But when a chicken wing shortage and higher prices hit the market, some of the chain's problems were out of its control. Increased menu prices drove sales even lower at a time when rivals like McDonald's and KFC kept selling wings at cheaper prices. Recent consumer complaints about the declining quality of its products have only added to the company's woes. The restaurant is in the middle of a downturn, and if it fails to address its issues soon, BWW will likely fall in distress in the next few months.

Even though doughnuts can be bought in thousands of chains, bakeries, convenience, and grocery stores across the country, Krispy Kreme has established itself as the go-to doughnut shop for millions of Americans. A round of store shutdowns in 2022 eliminated dozens of underperforming locations and allowed the company to save on costs at a time when financial results were disappointing. Even though that helped in the short-term, CEO Michael J. Tattersfield recently announced that layoffs are coming as the chain plans to save on labor costs by increasing automation in its stores to reduce its debt, which suggests that Krispy Kreme's financial problems aren't going away.

If your favorite chain made to this list, now it's time to visit that restaurant before doors close for good. Conditions can abruptly change in the restaurant industry, and a single failure in strategy can lead to the demise of a brand that took decades to be built. With a recession at our door, the fight for survival will intensify, and only the most apt will stay in business. That's why today, we compiled several restaurant chains that are in deep trouble and may close doors for good in next few months."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

“The Last Night of the World”

“The Last Night of the World”

Originally published in the February 1951 issue of "Esquire"

by Ray Bradbury

“What would you do if you knew this was the last night of the world?”

“What would I do; you mean, seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“I don’t know – I hadn’t thought.” She turned the handle of the silver coffeepot toward him and placed the two cups in their saucers. He poured some coffee. In the background, the two small girls were playing blocks on the parlor rug in the light of the green hurricane lamps. There was an easy, clean aroma of brewed coffee in the evening air.

“Well, better start thinking about it,” he said.

“You don’t mean it?” said his wife.

He nodded.

“A war?”

He shook his head.

“Not the hydrogen or atom bomb?”

“No.”

“Or germ warfare?”

“None of those at all,” he said, stirring his coffee slowly and staring into its black depths. “But just the closing of a book, let’s say.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“No, nor do I really. It’s jut a feeling; sometimes it frightens me, sometimes I’m not frightened at all – but peaceful.” He glanced in at the girls and their yellow hair shining in the bright lamplight, and lowered his voice. “I didn’t say anything to you. It first happened about four nights ago.”

“What?”

“A dream I had. I dreamt that it was all going to be over and a voice said it was; not any kind of voice I can remember, but a voice anyway, and it said things would stop here on Earth. I didn’t think too much about it when I awoke the next morning, but then I went to work and the feeling as with me all day. I caught Stan Willis looking out the window in the middle of the afternoon and I said, ‘Penny for your thoughts, Stan,’ and he said, ‘I had a dream last night,’ and before he even told me the dream, I knew what it was. I could have told him, but he told me and I listened to him.”

“It was the same dream?”

“Yes. I told Stan I had dreamed it, too. He didn’t seem surprised. He relaxed, in fact. Then we started walking through offices, for the hell of it. It wasn’t planned. We didn’t say, let’s walk around. We just walked on our own, and everywhere we saw people looking at their desks or their hands or out the windows and not seeing what was in front of their eyes. I talked to a few of them; so did Stan.”

“And all of them had dreamed?”

“All of them. The same dream, with no difference.”

“Do you believe in the dream?”

“Yes. I’ve never been more certain.”

“And when will it stop? The world, I mean.”

“Sometime during the night for us, and then, as the night goes on around the world, those advancing portions will go, too. It’ll take twenty-four hours for it all to go.”

They sat awhile not touching their coffee. Then they lifted it slowly and drank, looking at each other.

“Do we deserve this?” she said.

“It’s not a matter of deserving, it’s just that things didn’t work out. I notice you didn’t even argue about this. Why not?”

“I guess I have a reason,” she said.

“The same reason everyone at the office had?”

She nodded. “I didn’t want to say anything. It happened last night. And the women on the block are talking about it, just among themselves.” She picked up the evening paper and held it toward him. “There’s nothing in the news about it.”

“No, everyone knows, so what’s the need?” He took the paper and sat back in his chair, looking at the girls and then at her. “Are you afraid?”

“No. Not even for the children. I always thought I would be frightened to death, but I’m not.”

“Where’s that spirit of self-preservation the scientists talk about so much?”

“I don’t know. You don’t get too excited when you feel things are logical. This is logical. Nothing else but this could have happened from the way we’ve lived.”

“We haven’t been too bad, have we?”

“No, nor enormously good. I suppose that’s the trouble. We haven’t been very much of anything except us, while a big part of the world was busy being lots of quite awful things.”

The girls were laughing in the parlor as they waved their hands and tumbled down their house of blocks.

“I always imagined people would be screaming in the streets at a time like this.”

“I guess not. You don’t scream about the real thing.”

“Do you know, I won’t miss anything but you and the girls. I never liked cities or autos or factories or my work or anything except you three. I won’t miss a thing except my family and perhaps the change in the weather and a glass of cool water when the weather’s hot, or the luxury of sleeping. Just little things, really. How can we sit here and talk this way?”

“Because there’s nothing else to do.”

“That’s it, of course, for if there were, we’d be doing it. I suppose this is the first time in the history of the world that everyone has really known just what they were going to be doing during the last night.”

“I wonder what everyone else will do now, this evening, for the next few hours.”

“Go to a show, listen to the radio, watch the TV, play cards, put the children to bed, get to bed themselves, like always.”

“In a way that’s something to be proud of – like always.”

“We’re not all bad.”

They sat a moment and then he poured more coffee. “Why do you suppose it’s tonight?”

“Because.”

“Why not some night in the past ten years of in the last century, or five centuries ago or ten?”

“Maybe it’s because it was never February 30, 1951, ever before in history, and now it is and that’s it, because this date means more than any other date ever meant and because it’s the year when things are as they are all over the world and that’s why it’s the end.”

“There are bombers on their course both ways across the ocean tonight that’ll never see land again.”

“That’s part of the reason why.”

“Well,” he said. “What shall it be? Wash the dishes?”

They washed the dishes carefully and stacked them away with especial neatness. At eight-thirty the girls were put to bed and kissed good night and the little lights by their beds turned on and the door left a trifle open.

“I wonder,” said the husband, coming out and looking back, standing there with his pipe for a moment.”

“What?”

“If the door should be shut all the way or if it should be left just a little ajar so we can hear them if they call.”

“I wonder if the children know – if anyone mentioned anything to them?”

“No, of course not. They’d have asked us about it.”

They sat and read the papers and talked and listened to some radio music and then sat together by the fireplace looking at the charcoal embers as the clock struck ten-thirty and eleven and eleven-thirty. They thought of all the other people in the world who had spent their evening, each in their own special way.

“Well,” he said at last. He kissed his wife for a long time.

“We’ve been good for each other, anyway.”

“Do you want to cry?” he asked.

“I don’t think so.”

They went through the house and turned out the lights and locked the doors, and went into the bedroom and stood in the night cool darkness undressing. She took the spread from the bed and folded it carefully over a chair, as always, and pushed back the covers. “The sheets are so cool and clean and nice,” she said.

“I’m tired.”

“We’re both tired.”

They got into bed and lay back.

“Wait a moment,” she said.

He heard her get up and go out into the back of the house, and then he heard the soft shuffling of a swinging door. A moment later she was back. “I left the water running in the kitchen,” she said. “I turned the faucet off.”

Something about this was so funny that he had to laugh. She laughed with him, knowing what it was that she had done that was so funny. They stopped laughing at last and lay in their cool night bed, their hands clasped, their heads together.

“Good night,” he said, after a moment.

“Good night,” she said, adding softly, “dear…”

- http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "Falling Through Time"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "Falling Through Time"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"The W-shaped ridge of emission featured in this vivid skyscape is known as the Cygnus Wall. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive outline popularly called The North America Nebula, the cosmic ridge spans about 20 light-years. Constructed using narrowband data to highlight the telltale reddish glow from ionized hydrogen atoms recombining with electrons, the two frame mosaic image follows an ionization front with fine details of dark, dusty forms in silhouette.

Sculpted by energetic radiation from the region's young, hot, massive stars, the dark shapes inhabiting the view are clouds of cool gas and dust with stars likely forming within. The North America Nebula itself, NGC 7000, is about 1,500 light-years away.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/

"Above All..."

"Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love. "

- Fyodor Dostoevsky, "The Brothers Karamazov"

"We Are Entering A New Dark Ages"

"We Are Entering A New Dark Ages"

by Chris Black

"It began at the beginning of this century. Add fifty years to today and everything that happened in the 20th century will be forgotten. People living in the Dark Ages didn’t even know there was a Roman civilization far more advanced than the kingdom they inhabited under their oppressive lords. The Renaissance was just a reversion to a level already reached a thousand years before by the Romans. Children today are being taught falsehoods about things that happened twenty years ago. Pretty soon they’ll be taught that the World Wars of the 20th Century were fought to liberate transsexuals and other LGBTQWTFs from persecution. They’ll lap it up like impressionable puppies.

The only real innovation over the last twenty years is unprecedented fraud and corruption. You don’t build a lasting society on that. I’m sure that it took a few years for the Bolshevik takeover of Russia to sink in. People probably thought the Tsars would return and conquer Lenin and Stalin. The same thing played out in China. Millions of Chinese left and fled to Taiwan. They were supposed to come back and retake the mainland. Instead, Communism took hold with brutal regimes lasting entire lifetimes. China is still under Communist control.

Three years ago there was a Bolshevik coup in the United States. There will never be a true election again, and we are living in a Communist dictatorship. The proof was the Dark Biden speech. It was the crowning event of a dictator, demanding that all follow the state or be destroyed.

Did you not listen to the words? Did you not listen when they said that Republicans would win overwhelmingly on Election Day, but that it would all disappear weeks after as they find more votes?

After the installation of Biden, the Capital of the United States was militarized. The People’s House was surrounded by fences and access was blocked. Political prisoners were thrown in federal prison, without charge, legal representation, or trial. They are subjected to torture and live in conditions thought to be illegal, against international law governing the treatment of prisoners. They were then given extreme sentences, far beyond the supposed crimes, even greater than first degree murder in some states.

Freedom in America is gone. The United States of America no longer exists. The midterm elections prove this. The status quo of communist control is upheld. They needed to allow for the appearance of a functioning Republic by giving the opposition enough seats, but not enough to give them any power. In another year the regime will end that gesture and full control will be handed over.

The left cheers centralized control. They have wanted a communist nation for over 100 years. Their dreams are realized. Did you not listen when the Democrats said that election deniers will be dealt with? That conservatives are an enemy of democracy? Do you understand, or are you just naive to the situation? Do you still think the ballot box fixes this? The only answer is a bullet box."

- https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/

"I Can't Convince Myself..."

“I can’t convince myself that it does much good to try to challenge the everyday political delusions and dementias of Americans at large. Their contained and confined mentalities by far prefer the petty and parochial prisons of the kind of sense they have been trained and rewarded for making out of their lives (and are punished for deviating from them). What it costs them ultimately to be such slaves and infants and ideological zombies is a thought too monstrous and rending and spiky for them even to want to glance at.”

- Kenneth Smith

“If you want to tell people the truth,

 make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.”

- Oscar Wilde

Free Download: Barbara Tuchman, "The Guns Of August"

“Before the Leaves Fall From the Trees”

by Simon Black

"The morning of June 28, 1914 began like any other normal day. It was a Sunday, so a lot of people went to church. Others prepared large meals for family gatherings, played with their children, or thumbed through the Sunday papers.

At that point, tensions had been high in Europe for several years; the continent was bitterly divided by a series of complex diplomatic and military alliances, and small wars had recently broken out. Italy and the Ottoman Empire went to war in 1912 in a limited, 13-month conflict. And the First Balkan War was waged in early 1913. Overall, though, the continent clung to a delicate peace. And hardly anyone expected that most of the next three decades would be filled with chaos, poverty, and destruction. And then it happened.

That Sunday afternoon, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated during an official visit to Sarajevo. And the world changed forever. Five weeks later the entire continent was at war with itself. But even still, most of the ‘experts’ thought it would be a simple, speedy conflict. Germany’s emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, famously told his troops who were being shipped off to the front line in August 1914, “You will be home before the leaves fall from the trees...” It took four years and an estimated 68 million casualties to bring the war to a close. But that was only the prelude.

Following (and even during) World War I, a series of bloody revolutionary movements took hold in Europe, including in Russia, Greece, Spain, Turkey, and Ireland. Then came the Spanish flu, which claimed the lives of tens of millions of people. Later, Germany sunk into one of the worst episodes of hyperinflation in human history.

Communism began rapidly spreading across the world almost as quickly as the Spanish flu, often through violent fanatics who engaged in murder and arson in order to intimidate their opponents; this became known as the ‘Red Scare’ in the United States.

Of course there were some good years during the 1920s when people generally felt prosperous and happy; but it all came crashing down at the end of the decade when a severe economic depression strangled the entire world. It lasted for more than ten years, during which time the world was once again brought to an even more destructive war that didn’t end until atomic weapons obliterated the civilian populations of two Japanese cities.

Again – go back to June 1914. Who would have thought that the next 30+ years would play out so destructively? Even for the people who did predict that Europe would go to war in 1914, most leaders thought it would be over quickly. And almost no one expected it would spawn decades of chaos.

Today we’re obviously living in different times and under different circumstances. But we may be standing at a similar precipice as in 1914, staring at enormous trends that could shape our lives for years to come. Covid only scratches the surface.

We now know without a doubt, for example, how governments will respond the next time they feel there’s a threat to public health. They’ll say, “We’re listening to the scientists.” Really? The same scientists who told people they couldn’t go to work, school, or church, but it was perfectly fine for peaceful protesters to pack together like sardines without wearing masks because they’re apparently protected from the virus by their own righteousness? The same scientists who wanted to lock everyone down to prevent Covid, but are happy to accept skyrocketing rates of cancer, depression, suicide, heart disease, and domestic abuse as a result of those very lockdowns and so-called "vaccines'?

The public health consequences from this pandemic and "vaccine" will reverberate for years to come. And that doesn’t even begin to take the economic consequences into consideration. Western governments have taken on trillions of dollars in new debt this year and central banks have printed trillions more. Even with all that stimulus, however, there are still hundreds of millions of people worldwide who lost their jobs, and countless businesses that have closed. Future generations who haven’t even been born yet will spend their entire working lives paying interest on the debts that are being accumulated today. The long-term consequences of all this are incalculable.

And then there are the social trends – the rise of neo-Marxism that’s sweeping the world so fast. It’s the Red Scare of the 21st century. They despise talented, successful people. They believe it’s greedy for you to keep a healthy portion of what you earn, but it’s not greedy for them to take it from you and spend it on themselves.

Many of the people in this movement, of course, are violent fanatics who routinely engage in arson, assault, and vandalism. Same for the social justice warriors who are just as quick to violence and intimidation; plus they’ve already commandeered the decision-making of some of the largest, most powerful companies in the world. You can’t even watch a football game or a TV commercial anymore without some commentary on oppression and victimization. And any intellectual dissent is met with intimidation or censorship.

In fact the largest consumer technology companies in the world have become our censors. We’re not allowed to share scientific information that doesn’t conform to the Chinese-controlled World Health Organization’s guidance. And news articles that don’t match their ideology are blocked.

Let’s not kid ourselves – these trends are not going away any time soon. It’s great to be optimistic, hope for the best, and enjoy the good years as they come. But it makes sense to at least be prepared for the possibility that we could be at the very beginning of a period of enormous instability that may last a very long time."

- https://www.theburningplatform.com/

○

"The Guns of August" 

"In this landmark, Pulitzer Prize–winning account, renowned historian Barbara W. Tuchman re-creates the first month of World War I: thirty days in the summer of 1914 that determined the course of the conflict, the century, and ultimately our present world. Beginning with the funeral of Edward VII, Tuchman traces each step that led to the inevitable clash. And inevitable it was, with all sides plotting their war for a generation. Dizzyingly comprehensive and spectacularly portrayed with her famous talent for evoking the characters of the war’s key players."

Freely download here:

- https://d-pdf.com/book/

o

"The Quick Guide to World War 1"

o

“It is history that teaches us to hope. It is well that war is 

so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”

- Robert E. Lee

But we've learned nothing from history, nothing at all, 

and our fondness, no, love of war, has only improved the weapons...

The Daily "Near You?"

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Thanks for stopping by!

'Everybody's Pretending..."

“You go up to a man, and you say, “How are things going, Joe?” and he says, “Oh fine, fine... couldn’t be better.” And you look into his eyes, and you see things really couldn’t be much worse. When you get right down to it, everybody’s having a perfectly lousy time of it, and I mean everybody. And the hell of it is, nothing seems to help much.” - Kurt Vonnegut

"People are sad. People are broke. People are worried about money, people are worried that they're not enough and not amounting to anything and they don't feel good about themselves. People have rough times, and everybody's pretending it's not true, and we need to break that veneer." - Eve Ensler