Full screen recommended.
2002, "Stillpoint"
So, we rise from the rubble...
Thursday, October 19, 2023
"A Look to the Heavens"
"The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy and astronomers in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems.
As for the view from planet Earth, this sharp image shows off M33's blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions along the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 is the brightest star forming region, seen here at about the 4 o'clock position from the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick for establishing the distance scale of the Universe."
The Poet: John Jefferson, “Wounded But Not Slain”
“Wounded But Not Slain”
“I am wounded but I am not slain.
I’m bruised and faint they say…
I shall lay me down and bleed a while,
then I shall rise and fight again.
Just let me lie and bleed awhile;
I’ll not be long this way.
My Spirit’s low and my eyes flow.
My heart is sad and sore;
But when my pen’ent tears are gone,
I’ll stand and fight some more.
I’ll bind these wounds; I’ll dry these tears;
I’ll close this bleeding vein;
I’ll not lie here and weep and die:
I’ll rise and fight again.
‘Twas yesterday I bowed so low,
Was weak from tears and pain;
Today I’m strong; my fears are gone;
Today I fight again.”
- John Jefferson
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“You cannot kill me here. Bring your soldiers, your death, your disease, your collapsed economy because it doesn’t matter, I have nothing left to lose and you cannot kill me here. Bring the tears of orphans and the wails of a mother’s loss, bring your God damn air force and Jesus on a cross, bring your hate and bitterness and long working hours, bring your empty wallets and love long since gone but you cannot kill me here. Bring your sneers, your snide remarks and friendships never felt, your letters never sent, your kisses never kissed, cigarettes smoked to the bone and cancer killing fears but you cannot kill me here. For I may fall and I may fail but I will stand again each time and you will find no satisfaction. Because you cannot kill me here.”
- Iain S. Thomas
"Retirement Crisis Triggers Biggest Homelessness Spike Ever As People Struggle Financially"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 10/19/23
"Retirement Crisis Triggers Biggest Homelessness
Spike Ever As People Struggle Financially"
"More elderly Americans are facing homelessness than ever before as the retirement crisis and rising rents leave millions struggling financially. Now, increasingly more baby boomers are waking up to the reality that working for your entire adult life is not a guarantee you’ll be able to afford housing during your senior years. This group has faced a series of recessions throughout their lifetime and has also witnessed the explosive growth of home prices over the five past decades. On the other hand, their incomes haven’t risen at the same pace, and many haven’t had the opportunity to save enough to retire comfortably.
According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal based on data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in 2023, older adults are the fastest-growing segment of the country’s homeless population. “The fact that we are seeing elderly homelessness is something that we have not seen since the Great Depression,” stressed Dennis Culhane, the social policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Today, the over-50 demographic represents 50% of the homeless single adults in the U.S., meaning that baby boomers (those aged 57 to 75) are particularly vulnerable. From 2013 to 2023, the percentage of people 50 and older in homeless shelters increased from 16% to 23%. The National Health Care for the Homeless Council also found that the percentage of baby boomer patients whom it serviced in 2022 was 36% — up from 25% 15 years earlier.
At the same time, the number of affordable nursing homes and assisted living centers has shrunk, partly due to labor shortages, inflation, and reduced funding. For instance, in Florida, the state with the highest rate of US citizens 65 or older, more than 600 nursing homes have been shuttered since 2017.
Between 2020 and 2023, rents faced the fastest increase in nearly a century. In many areas, rent prices are completely out of the reach of average Americans. Moreover, an analysis by the U.S. Government Accountability Office indicated that only 1 in 10 low-income workers between the ages of 51 and 64 had any funds put away for retirement last year, compared with 1 in 5 in 2007 prior to the Great Recession. Those workers have median earnings of about $19,000 annually, noted the study, which examined data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances and other sources.
Yet, the problem may not only be with people’s ability to save money for their future but the way the U.S. system is designed. On Tuesday, the new Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index was released, and it exposed that this year, the U.S. ranks behind 30 other countries in the 38-member bloc, which collectively has an average poverty rate of 13.1%. Analysts gave the nation’s retirement system a C+, putting the United States on par with countries like Kazakhstan, Colombia, and Croatia.
Our retirement approach is so flawed that about two-thirds of working Americans over 50 said they intend to delay retirement or are unsure if they will be able to retire when they want, an Axios-Ipsos poll found.
In a country as wealthy as the United States, homelessness for anyone — but particularly older adults — should not be acceptable. Instead of helping U.S. citizens to retire comfortably, our leaders continue to transfer their responsibility to our shoulders, forcing workers to continue to support this rigged economic system even after a lifetime of hard work."
Comments here:
Gerald Celente, "Prepare: Markets And Middle East Melting Down"
Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, Trends Journal 10/19/23
"Prepare: Markets And Middle East Melting Down"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."
Comments here:
"16 Harsh Truths That Make Us Stronger "
"16 Harsh Truths That Make Us Stronger "
by Marc Chernoff
"1. Life is not easy. Hard work makes people lucky, it's the stuff that brings dreams to reality. So start every morning ready to run farther than you did yesterday and fight harder than you ever have before.
2. You will fail sometimes. The faster you accept this, the faster you can get on with being brilliant. You'll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won't work. So get out there and do something! Either you succeed or you learn a vital lesson. Win, Win.
3. Right now, there's a lot you don't know. The day you stop learning is the day you stop living. Embrace new information, think about it and use it to advance yourself.
4. There may not be a tomorrow. Not for everyone. Right now, someone on Earth is planning something for tomorrow without realizing they're going to die today. This is sad but true. So spend your time wisely today and pause long enough to appreciate it.
5. There's a lot you can't control. Wasting your time, talent and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control is a recipe for frustration, misery and stagnation. Invest your energy in the things you can control.
6. Information is not true knowledge. Knowledge comes from experience. You can discuss a task a hundred times, but these discussions will only give you a philosophical understanding. You must experience a task firsthand to truly know it.
7. You can't be successful without providing value. Don't waste your time trying to be successful, spend your time creating value. When you're valuable to the world around you, you will be successful.
8. Someone else will always have more than you. Whether it's money, friends or magic beans that you're collecting, there will always be someone who has more than you. But remember, it's not how many you have, it's how passionate you are about collecting them. It's all about the journey.
9. You can't change the past. As Maria Robinson once said, "Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. " You can't change what happened, but you can change how you react to it.
10. The only person who can make you happy is you. The root of your happiness comes from your relationship with yourself. Sure external entities can have fleeting effects on your mood, but in the long run nothing matters more than how you feel about who you are on the inside.
11. There will always be people who don't like you. You can't be everything to everyone. No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks differently. So concentrate on doing what you know in your heart is right. What others think and say about you isn't all that important. What is important is how you feel about yourself.
12. You won't always get what you want. As Mick Jagger once said, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find you get what you need. " Look around. Appreciate the things you have right now. Many people aren't so lucky.
13. In life, you get what you put in. If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It really is this simple.
14. Good friends will come and go. Most of your high school friends won't be a part of your college life. Most of your college friends won't be a part of your 20-something professional life. Most of your 20-something friends won't be there when your spouse and you bring your second child into the world. But some friends will stick. And it's these friends, the ones who transcend time with you, who matter.
15. Doing the same exact thing every day hinders self growth. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting. Growth happens when you change things, when you try new things, when you stretch beyond your comfort zone.
16. You will never feel 100% ready for something new. Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means you won't feel totally comfortable or ready for it.
And remember, trying to be someone else is a waste of the person you are. Strength comes from being comfortable in your own skin. "
"Decline of Empire: Parallels Between the U.S. and Rome, Part I"
"Decline of Empire:
Parallels Between the U.S. and Rome, Part I"
by Doug Casey
Excerpt: "As some of you know, I’m an aficionado of ancient history. I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss what happened to Rome and based on that, what’s likely to happen to the U.S. Spoiler alert: There are some similarities between the U.S. and Rome. But before continuing, please seat yourself comfortably. This article will necessarily cover exactly those things you’re never supposed to talk about - religion and politics - and do what you’re never supposed to do, namely, bad-mouth the military.
There are good reasons for looking to Rome rather than any other civilization when trying to see where the U.S. is headed. Everyone knows Rome declined, but few people understand why. And, I think, even fewer realize that the U.S. is now well along the same path for pretty much the same reasons, which I’ll explore shortly.
Rome reached its peak of military power around the year 107, when Trajan completed the conquest of Dacia (the territory of modern Romania). With Dacia, the empire peaked in size, but I’d argue it was already past its peak by almost every other measure.
The U.S. reached its peak relative to the world, and in some ways its absolute peak, as early as the 1950s. In 1950 this country produced 50% of the world’s GNP and 80% of its vehicles. Now it’s about 21% of world GNP and 5% of its vehicles. It owned two-thirds of the world’s gold reserves; now it holds one-fourth. It was, by a huge margin, the world’s biggest creditor, whereas now it’s the biggest debtor by a huge margin. The income of the average American was by far the highest in the world; today it ranks about eighth, and it’s slipping.
But it’s not just the U.S. - it’s Western civilization that’s in decline. In 1910 Europe controlled almost the whole world - politically, financially, and militarily. Now it’s becoming a Disneyland with real buildings and a petting zoo for the Chinese. It’s even further down the slippery slope than the U.S."
Full part I of this article is here:
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Full part II of this article is here:
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Full part III of this article is here:
"A Realistic Attitude...
"It was the essence of life to disbelieve in death for one's self, to act as if life would continue forever. And life had to act also as if little issues were big ones. To take a realistic attitude toward life and death meant that one lapsed into unreality. Into insanity. It was ironic that the only way to keep one's sanity was to ignore that one was in an insane world or to act as if the world were sane."
- Philip José Farmer
"World War III Update, 10/19/23"
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/19/23
"Col. Douglas Macgregor,
The Israeli Conflict: Can The US Support Two Wars?"
Comments here:
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Colonel Douglas Macgregor Straight Calls, 10/19/23
"Russia - Ukraine War: This Is A Magnificent Tactic"
"Analysis of breaking news and in-depth discussion of current
geopolitical events in the United States of America and the world."
Comments here:
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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/19/23
"Col. Douglas Macgregor,
"Avoiding Armageddon"
"Judge Napolitano: How can we the United States and the West avoid Armageddon?
Col. Douglas Macgregor: Well, that’s the that’s the question it should be on everyone's mind in Washington and sadly it seldom comes up I think the greatest challenge for Americans. Even more than for the Israelis is to understand just how profoundly the world we live in has changed since the last major war that the Israelis were compelled to fight and that was in 1973.
Some of your Observers and audience may remember in 1973 Israel was attacked by the Syrians In the east in the north and at the same time attacked from the south and the west by Egypt. The problem was that Egypt had very limited goals. The Egyptian president was not interested in destroying or eradicating Israel. He simply wanted to regain control of the territory that had been lost in 1967. So, he moved across the canal, set up a defense and that was as far as he went The Syrians of course did try to break through and that was somewhat desperate for a period of time But the Israelis were able to meet that threat first before turning their entire attention to Egypt.
This time the situation is very different! First of all the weapons have changed. The arsenal of rockets and missiles in the region is enormous. People are quoting numbers in the realm of a hundred and thirty thousand rockets and missiles from Hezbollah alone. We don’t even need to mention others in the region that kind of arsenal is enough in and of itself to destroy much of Israel. Then you have a problem with Hamas and Hezbollah and the rest of the region and that is the rest of the region is a sick of Israel as much of the world and Europe is sick of us and what I mean by that is that we are on the threshold of total war.
That's what no one seems to understand if the Israelis march into Gaza, which I think would be a very unrewarding exercise for them, but nevertheless, they seem determined to do it, and if they do they will not only lose soldiers they will fail to root out the thousands of Hamas fighters that are there. They'll get some but they won't get them all. They will not improve their position at all with the people of Hamas or the people living on the so -called West Bank. And the rest of the region is prepared to go to war too.
Stop and think about it. It’s not just Iran. In fact, Iran has militias that can attack us, and anyone who works with this in Iraq and Syria. That’s one part of the problem. The Iranians are not going to try to lob theater ballistic missiles at Israel because the Israelis have said they would use a nuclear weapon, but Turkey is different. And the Turks have an unhappy record with the Israelis. Just a few years ago, they tried to deliver humanitarian ai to Gaza. The Israelis boarded their ship, killed some of their citizens and turned back the aid. This kind of thing did not cultivate support and friendliness in Turkey. And remember, Mr. Erdogan is the de facto leading military power in the Sunni Muslim world.
Finally, you have the Pakistanis who are very close to the Turks and have made it abundantly clear that the Turks will receive nuclear warheads and other capabilities from them if they need them in order to deter the Israelis from using a nuclear weapon. And finally, the Turks have the largest air forces and armies in the region. The Turks can put two million men in the field in the space of a little over a month. And the Turks are ferocious fighters. Now, all of this spells doom for the Israelis if they launch this attack on Gaza. What I just described is an unwinnable fight. Even the air power from the United States that we could commit is not going to be enough. And we all know we don’t have the troops on the ground. We simply don’t have very many soldiers or Marines at this point."
Truer words were never spoken...
"There are a multitude of fuses affixed to dozens of powder-kegs and little kids with matches are on the loose. I don’t know which of the fuses will be lit and which powder-keg will blow, but someone is bound to do something stupid, and then all hell will break loose. It could happen at any time. One military miscue. One assassination. One violent act that stirs the world. And the dominoes will topple, setting off fireworks not seen on this planet since 1939 – 1945. I can see it all very clearly."
- Jim Quinn
Peter Schiff, "The 'Unsinkable' American Consumer Is Drowning In Debt"
"The 'Unsinkable' American Consumer Is Drowning In Debt"
by Schiffgold
"Every time retail sales come in higher than expected, the mainstream media breathlessly reports this as proof that the American consumer is strong and resilient. In his podcast, Peter Schiff explained that these retail sales numbers aren’t a sign of a strong economy. They just reflect Americans paying more for less. And what’s worse, they’re burying themselves in debt to do it.
Retail sales were indeed stronger than expected in September, increasing by 0.7%. The expectation was for a 0.3% gain. Year-over-year, retail sales are up 3.8%. The media hyped the report. CNN said it was a sign that consumers “aren’t tapping out just yet.” But the report was not actually good news. First, it’s important to remember that retail sales data is not inflation-adjusted. Everything costs more. Everything you buy is a lot more expensive. So, assuming that you don’t buy less, and of course, some people are buying less, but if you just buy the same stuff and everything costs a lot more, well of course, retail sales are going to go up.”
But this doesn’t indicate that the economy is thriving, and it doesn’t mean Americans are on a spending spree buying more stuff. In many cases, they’re buying a lot less. They’re just paying more. And they’re buying fewer of the things that they want because they’re paying more to buy the things that they need.” If you adjust the annual retail sales increase of 3.8% by the CPI, it drops to 0.1%. In other words, almost the entirety of the retail sales increase was due to rising prices. Nevertheless, the raw retail sales data creates the impression that Americans are happily spending money. Peter said you can’t necessarily draw that conclusion.
"Americans aren’t happy that their grocery bill went up, and they’re probably not eating more or eating better. In fact, they’re probably trading down into lower-quality stuff. They’re just paying more.”
For instance, restaurant sales were up big. But if you’ve eaten out recently, you know the cost of everything on the menu has gone up dramatically. Even if you eat out less, you’re still spending more. Peter emphasized that none of this is a sign of a strong economy. It is a sign of inflation. And that’s all this retail sales number is reflecting — inflation. It’s not about a strong economy, but about rising inflation.” And we all know that actual prices are rising even faster than the CPI numbers indicate because the formula intentionally understates price inflation.
Obviously, if the government is underreporting how much prices are going up, then the retail sales are actually capturing the real increase in prices because it’s what the consumers are actually paying. It’s not what the government is pretending they’re actually paying, but what they are, in fact, paying. So, these retail sales numbers are probably a better reflection of inflation than the CPI.”
We shouldn’t celebrate this. It’s bad news. But the media keeps talking about the “unsinkable American consumer.” He’s not unsinkable. He’s downing in debt! And the only reason he’s still floating is because he’s got two or three jobs. This is not a report card on the success of the American economy, but on the failure. Because what it’s really measuring is the cost of living. People have to spend a lot more money to buy the same amount of stuff that they bought in the past.”
And as Peter noted, they’re buying a lot of this stuff on credit. Revolving credit – primarily credit card debt – surged by 13.9% in August. Americans now owe $1.28 trillion in revolving credit. According to MarketWatch, “Americans appear to be relying more on debt to pay for their purchases. They are also using more ‘buy now and pay later’ plans.”
Peter pointed out that breaking down retail sales reveals the strain felt by consumers. "Categories like food are up. But electronics sales are down. [Americans] are spending more on shelter. They’re spending more on energy. They’re spending more on food. They’re spending more on insurance. They’re spending more on healthcare. They’ve got to make these expenditures. They have no choice. And the problem is when they finish buying all the things they need, they don’t have much left over for the things that they want.”
The consumer credit data reveals the same thing. While credit card spending surged in August, non-revolving credit tanked. That represents borrowing for big-ticket items. So, Americans are using credit cards to pay for the basics like food and gas, and they’re not making bigger purchases at all. Peter goes on to explain why an economy built on consumer spending isn’t something to brag about."
"Gregory Mannarino, AM/PM 10/19/23"
Gregory Mannarino, AM 10/19/23
"Final Warning! Get Your Cash Out Of The Banks,
The Debt Market Is Melting Down!"
Comments here:
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Gregory Mannarino, PM 10/19/23
"Banks And The Entire System
Is Much Worse Off Than We Think"
Comments here:
Dan, I Allegedly, "The Economic Carnage You're Not Seeing"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 10/19/23
"The Economic Carnage You're Not Seeing"
"Witness the repercussions of the economic downturn as it unfolds - from the housing market's soaring interest rates to the skyrocketing prices brought about by inflation. Be part of our journey as we navigate through these turbulent times, exploring topics like #HomeBuilders, #GM, #NAR, #TheFed, and more. You can believe whatever you would like. But, the economy is in real trouble and we’re getting more and more warning signs that tell us how bad things are. Get yourself ready for more news."
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Adventures With Danno, "AM/PM Food Prices"
Full screen recommended,
Adventures With Danno, AM 10/19/23
"Stocking Up At Kroger! Finding The Best Deals!"
"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger and stocking up on all the best deals on groceries! We are taking advantage of some of the sales as prices continue to skyrocket all around the country!"
Comments here:
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Adventures with Danno, PM 10/19/23
"10 Items In Grocery Stores That Are
Skyrocketing In Price In Fall 2023!"
"These are 10 items in grocery stores we are seeing skyrocket in price! We go over why these items are important as this is just the beginning of what's to come and why we need to prepare accordingly!"
Comments here:
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
"Emergency Alert! Russian Nuke Forces Activated; Global Civil Unrest; Street Battles, Iran's Nuclear Plan"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper 10/18/23
"Emergency Alert! Russian Nuke Forces Activated;
Global Civil Unrest; Street Battles, Iran's Nuclear Plan"
Comments here:
Redacted, "Scott Ritter: War With Iran Would Be Suicide And The U.S. Will Lose"
Full screen recommended.
Redacted, 10/18/23
"Scott Ritter: War With Iran Would
Be Suicide And The U.S. Will Lose"
"Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter lays out how a U.S. backed war against Iran would bring devastation to both the United States and Israel. Ritter says Israel would be destroyed if it tries to face off against Hezbollah and Hamas simultaneously."
Comments here:
"Bikinis, Garbage Loans, And Fishy Finance"
"Bikinis, Garbage Loans, And Fishy Finance"
by John Wilder
"The Big Solution to the Great Recession was printing lots of money. I would have (back then) thought that it would have hit the economy all at once. In reality, what the Federal Reserve® and the Treasury did was send all that money they printed off to the banks. The banks didn’t lend it. They kept it on the books, and in fact many of them redeposited their free money with the Fed™. In reality, the Fed© was scared about was the entire system locking up. It was pretty bad in 2009 – basic chemicals that were necessary (say, sulfuric acid) for a basic, functioning economy just stopped production.
No one knew who had money, or who would have money. As one friend of mine noted at the time, “When the tide goes out, you finally see who isn’t wearing swimming trunks.”
The inflation stayed “within target” for the Fed™, flipping up and down around 2% during the decade following. Again, with all of the money printed, I expected it to be more, and I still don’t trust the official government figures on inflation since that would be like trusting a used-car salesman on that gently used 1995 Ford Taurus© with only 350,000 miles on it.
COVID was the final straw, though. People produced less stuff, so there was a lower supply. The government printed a lot more money and then gave it to everyone, who most definitely didn’t save it, and in fact bid prices up on everything. Making nothing and buying everything? Inflation. Or my ex-wife.
Inflation finally triggered interest rates to go up. That posed a problem for the banks. Let’s take me: I have a small mortgage left on Stately Wilder Manor. I’m in no hurry to pay it off because I can get a CD for 5.5%, but my mortgage is only 4%. My mortgage is worth less to the banks now than I owe on it – if I were another bank, they’d sell it to me for less than I owe. That’s a problem for banks that have exposure to mortgages and didn’t sell them off or hedge them.
It’s not just mortgages – Silicon Valley Bank® decided to invest in lots of long-term bonds and such because inflation had been so low. Buy a corporate bond yielding 4%, pay depositors 1%, and profit! But when interest rates started heading upward, the same sort of math as with the bank that owns my mortgage applies – what used to be worth $100 is now only worth, say, $80. Oops. When the people who put hundreds of millions of dollars into the bank, money that wasn’t insured, find out. Bank funs. Er, bank runs.
How bad was it? Of the $172 billion deposited at the bank, only 11% was covered by deposit insurance. I imagine that there were quite a few tense billionaires like Oprah worried that she’d have to get a job at the McDonald’s® drive through, and how could she resist those perfectly salty fries? Since billionaires were in danger, the FDIC immediately said, “Rules? Who needs those. All money is safe in Bartertown!”
My initial expectation is that we’d see more bank failures right around now as interest rates increased and the piles of garbage on the balance sheets of the banks started to rot. Instead? Banks are still (I believe) happily lending money borrowed by the Fed™.
How do they do it? They manage to do it by having the Fed© allow them to mark their assets to what they paid for them, not what they’re worth. So, they’re lying. I’m fairly certain the Fed™ is buying this stuff to get it off the balance sheets of the banks and lending them more money whenever they don’t have enough caviar.
The rot, though, is still there – it’s only a matter of who pays for the rot. Debt always gets paid, the old saying goes, either by the borrower or by the lender. I do know of two local businesses that are going bankrupt. Their debt is what drove the bankruptcy. My guess is that, combined, they have a debt of a million and a half dollars (or so). Who will pay it? In the end, the lender will.
I think that might be at least part of the big jump in debt that the United States owes. As interest rates go up, Uncle Sam is acting like a raccoon and jumping straight into the trash can to eat the garbage loans and bonds that the banks had to throw out because they were stinking up the fridge. Here’s proof:
Eventually, printing lots and lots of money is like a magic trick the magician does one too many times and everyone sees how it works. Will it work this time? Unrelated, frequent commenter Ray notes this Give Send Go. I'll let him explain more. GiveSendGo - "Loco Needs Divorce from Prostate: The Leader in Freedom Fundraising."
"Jeremiah Babe, 10/18/23"
Jeremiah Babe, 10/18/23
"Real Estate Market About To Be Destroyed;
Do Not Buy A House; Mortgage Rates Hit 8% And Going Higher"
Comments here:
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The southern Milky Way appears spectacular in this composite image taken from Mangaia, the most southerly of the Cook Islands. Few sources of light pollution exist here, home to only 500 people.
The two bright stars at the Milky Way’s center are Alpha (left) and Beta Centauri. They point to Crux the Southern Cross. Near the horizon, two of the satellite galaxies of our Milky Way, the Small (left) and Large Magellanic Clouds are easy to spot.”
"The Molten Pit Of Human Reality..."
"Friedrich Nietzsche in ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ holds that only a few people have the fortitude to look in times of distress into what he calls the molten pit of human reality. Most, studiously, ignore the pit. Artists and philosophers, for Nietzsche, are consumed however by an insatiable curiosity, a quest for truth and a desire for meaning. They venture down into the bowels of the molten pit. They get as close as they can before the flames and heat drive them back. This intellectual and moral honesty, Nietzsche wrote, comes with a cost. Those singed by the fire of reality become ‘burnt children’ he wrote, eternal orphans in empires of illusion."
- Chris Hedges
○
"We work in the dark. We do what we can to battle the evil that would otherwise destroy us. But if a man's character is his fate, it's not a choice but a calling. Sometimes the weight of this burden causes us to falter from the fragile fortress of our mind, allowing the monster without to turn within. We are left alone staring into the abyss, into the laughing face of madness."
- Fox Mulder, "X-Files"
○
q○
Freely download "Beyond Good And Evil", by Friedrich Nietzsche, here:
The Poet: Charles Bukowski, "Darkness Falls"
"Darkness Falls"
"Darkness falls upon Humanity
and faces become terrible things
that wanted more than there was.
All our days are marked with
unexpected affronts -
some disastrous, others less so,
but the process is
wearing and continuous.
Attrition rules.
Most give way,
leaving empty spaces
where people should be.
And now,
as we ready to self-destruct,
there is very little left to kill,
which makes the tragedy
less and more,
much, much more. "
- Charles Bukowski
Redacted, "High Alert! No One Is Prepared For What's Coming"
Full screen recommended.
Redacted, 10/18/23
"High Alert! No One Is Prepared For What's Coming"
"Europe is now on high alert as the Middle East powder keg is set to explode. Will Iran launch a preemptive attack? Will the US pummel targets in Lebanon? Meanwhile President Putin is demanding that Netanyahu show the satellite proof that Biden claims absolves Israel of the gruesome Gaza hospital attack. 'Prove it or it didn't happen.'"
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"Biggest Banks At Risk Of Collapse This Winter As Massive Failures Begun"
Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 10/18/23
"Biggest Banks At Risk Of Collapse
This Winter As Massive Failures Begun"
Bank executives are warning about unprecedented risks in the financial system. According to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, banks are bracing for worst-case scenarios as higher interest rates elevate the risk of failures and losses in the months ahead. Americans should pay very close attention to what happens next because the turbulence will affect all of us.
The executive kicked off third-quarter earnings season alerting investors about a threatening outlook: “Now may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades,” he wrote in the company’s latest report. Dimon noted during an interview with CNN that bank executives across the United States are “climbing the wall of worry,” referring to the poor risk assessment of Wall Street investors right now.
In total, U.S. banks could be grappling with at least $650 billion of unrealized losses in their securities portfolios, according to analysts estimates, after prospects of interest rates staying higher for longer led to a bond market rout in the third quarter.
Unrealized losses have come under closer scrutiny by investors since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March. Back then, the institution sold a portfolio of its holdings at a sharp loss, precipitating its downfall and fueling the worst industry turmoil since the 2008 financial crisis.
The industry’s woes have gone from bad to worse after Moody’s Investors Service cut the credit ratings of 10 small and mid-sized American banks. The actions have sparked widespread concerns over American lenders’ costs, profitability, and specific exposures and have also raised crucial questions about the banking sector’s potential vulnerability to another crisis.
Debt delinquency also shot up in the past quarter. Losses currently stand at 3.63%, up 1.5 percentage points from the bottom, and the firm sees them rising another 1.3 percentage points to 4.93% by the end of 2023. This comes at a time when Americans owe more than $1 trillion on credit cards, the highest level in U.S. history.
The number of Americans who have filed for personal bankruptcy went up by 20%, legal services firm Epiq reported. Even though filing for bankruptcy can alleviate serious financial pressure, it also impacts credit scores for up to ten years and makes it harder to secure housing, loans, jobs, and even security clearances.
Simultaneously, corporate bankruptcies are soaring, too. So far, more than 400 corporations have gone under. Corporate bankruptcies are rising at the fastest pace since 2010, and are double the level seen this time last year.
Companies in the consumer discretionary and industrial sectors have seen the most bankruptcies as demand continues to cool down. Historically, these sectors carry significant debt on their balance sheets, putting them at higher risk in a rising rate environment. In the past twelve months, corporate interest costs have increased by 22%. They are also contending with higher wages, energy, and materials, among others, meaning that more and more companies are under greater pressure to cut costs, restructure their debt, or in the worst case, fold.
The consumer is breaking, companies are falling apart, and the financial system is crumbling down piece by piece. Another disaster seems to be brewing, and every one of us will be affected by it."
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'Few Things..."
"If your view of the world is that people use reason for their important decisions, you are setting yourself up for a life of frustration and confusion. You’ll find yourself continually debating people and never winning except in your own mind. Few things are as destructive and limiting as a worldview that assumes people are mostly rational."
- Scott Adams
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Gerald Celente, "Judge Napolitano: America's Blind Support For Israel"
Gerald Celente, Trends Journal, PM 10/18/23
"Judge Napolitano: America's Blind Support For Israel"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present facts and truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."
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Gregory Mannarino, "The System Is Breaking Down Rapidly, Expect Many More Body Bags To Get Filled"
Gregory Mannarino, PM 10/18/23
"The System Is Breaking Down Rapidly,
Expect Many More Body Bags To Get Filled"
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Bill Bonner, "Guns and More Guns"
"Guns and More Guns"
Mr. Biden drags America into war on two fronts..
by Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman
"You only step into that river once."
~ Heraclitus
Dublin, Ireland - "Through September, the US government had already borrowed $1.7 trillion, so far this year. It is on target to reach a total of $2 trillion before the year is out. This is the second biggest borrowing spree in history (after 2020).
We doubt this record for borrowing will hold for very long. Ms. Janet Yellen says the US can afford to back the Ukraine on the Eurasian Steppe and Israel in the Levant – at the same time. Business Insider: "The nation's top treasury official said the US does not have to pick and choose between aiding Israel and Ukraine in their ongoing military conflicts.
It's been just over a week since Israel officially declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after the group attacked several towns in southern Israel. Since the war began, President Joe Biden and US lawmakers on both sides of the aisle offered support for Israel, while at the same time pushing for the country to preserve innocent Palestinian lives in Gaza."
Guns and Butter: Lyndon Johnson famously declared that the US was fully capable of paying for ‘guns and butter’ – referring to the Great Society at home and the Vietnam war in Southeast Asia. But the Biden team has gone further – with two ‘wars’ overseas…while the churner churns butter 24/7 at home.
Johnson’s guns and butter campaigns were both flops. The Heritage Foundation calculates that $22 trillion has been spent on Johnson’s War on Poverty. But the poverty rate was 14% in 1965. Today, it is about the same. And the war in Vietnam ended as it began – disgracefully. The North Vietnamese won the war and took control over both North and South Vietnam.
But Johnson’s ‘Guns and Butter’ spending had consequences. It produced the inflation of the ‘70s along with the fatal change in the US money system of 1971. What will be the fruit of the ‘guns and more guns’ program of the Biden Bunch? We wait to find out. But let’s take a guess. Inflation? Two failed ‘wars?’ More poverty?
Not Worth a Dime: This year, interest on the federal debt is at $883 billion – about even with the Pentagon budget. It is expected to pull ahead in the years to come as the debt pile gets larger and interest rates go up. Federal debt is already reaching up to $34 trillion. Each year, more and more of it must be refinanced – at higher and higher rates.
US Treasury debt is the safest credit in the world – because the feds can print all the money they want. But the money paid to lenders back in the Johnson years is not the same money they get back today. And the money they get back tomorrow is not going to be the same as the money they get back today, either. According to the BLS, the 1965 dollar is now worth about 10 cents.
Except for the decade of the 1970s, inflation rates were actually stable or coming down for most of that period. This time, the feds are running bigger deficits than ever – with a $50 trillion federal debt expected by 2030. And this time, interest rates are going up, not down. So each additional increment of debt is more expensive. Which means, the feds will have to borrow money to finance their wars…and borrow money to pay the interest on the money they borrowed to fund their wars.
Another thing that is different: globalization is not driving down prices the way it used to. In 1978 China began a series of reforms that turned it into an economic powerhouse. “To get rich is glorious,” said Deng Tsiaoping, as he unleashed some 500 million people to provide cheaper and cheaper products for Western consumers. That trend has played itself out. Workers in China are no longer content to work for peanuts. Imports into the US are no longer dirt cheap.
Higher Price Ahead: What else might make tomorrow’s inflation worse than yesterday’s? The industrial revolution is no longer providing big increases in productivity. And the ball and chain of regulations, restrictions and petty-fogging paperwork has gotten heavier and heavier. As a result of all of these things, US GDP is growing at only about half the rate it was during the Great Society era. Less output inevitably means higher prices.
• 2 wars, not just one.
• Rising interest rates, not falling rates.
• Imports from China are no longer holding prices down.
• More regulation than ever.
• The Industrial Revolution may have played itself out (the internet revolution has not added much to GDP).
• GDP growth rates are only half of those of the ‘60s.While Wall Street is generally celebrating the big drop in inflation since last year, the actual inflation rate has gone up for the last three months. Did it bottom in June? Are we in for higher and higher prices…as far as the eye can see? We don’t know. But that river never stands still."
o
Joel’s Note: “Change is the only constant,” observed Heraclitus. (The pre-Socratic philosopher was full of witty aphorisms.) And here’s another change… or perhaps better stated, “divergence.”
The “Magnificent Seven” companies in the S&P 500 (what our macro analyst, Dan Denning, sometimes refers to as “The Generals”) are eating up a larger and larger portion of the index. Those top seven stocks are, by market cap, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Nvidia, Meta (Facebook), and Tesla.
A decade ago, they accounted for roughly 7-8% of the total S&P 500 index by market cap. Today, according to figures compiled by Bank of America, they weigh in at close to 30%, a record high. Here’s the chart (from BofA)…
Why is this relevant? For one thing, it means that the rally we’ve seen so far this year is not as broad-based as it might have been. Or rather, it is largely concentrated in those few, high-flying tech stocks. “The equal weight S&P index is barely positive year-to-date,” explains Dan, “while the 'regular' index is up 13%.”
Take a look at the chart, below. (You can see the divergence beginning to appear back in March, when the Magnificent Seven/Generals began to take off…leaving the rest of the S&P 500 index in their dust.)
“The S&P 500 is a market cap weighted index,” continues Dan. “The bigger a company's market capitalization, the bigger the impact its price movement has on the direction of the index.” As you can see from the first chart, the last time the Magnificent Seven companies ate up so much of the S&P 500 total market cap was back in 2021 (when it hit 29.1%)… “Just before BPR set sail,” Dan reminds us, “…and right before all those stocks crashed.”
Dan, I Allegedly, "The Real Estate Numbers Don’t Lie"
Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly 10/18/23
"The Real Estate Numbers Don’t Lie"
"You cannot argue with the numbers when it comes to real estate. 2023 is going to be the slowest year on record for real estate transactions since 2008. I discuss the rise of foreclosures, declining affordability, and the impending slowdown in real estate."
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o
Full screen recommended.
The Atlantis Report, 10/18/23
"The Fed Absolutely Destroyed The Housing Market"
"Rising borrowing costs have made it difficult for numerous potential buyers to enter the market. Concurrently, current homeowners are hesitant to list their properties for sale because they wish to retain the attractive low-interest rates they secured years ago. This dynamic has sustained high property prices despite declining demand. For these reasons and many more, the housing market remains uncertain, and experts believe that affordability will only lessen if mortgage rates undergo a more substantial reduction.
The major issue here is the sudden increase. Nothing is the same as it was even just a year ago. Investors, homeowners, buyers - everybody is awakening to the rude shock that it’s no longer business as usual. Home prices remained remarkably stable between 1970 and 2000, but a significant shift occurred in the early 2000s. Out of the blue, home prices began to surge considerably faster than inflation. By 2006, home prices had reached their zenith during the initial bubble, having grown by 80% since 1970. However, in 2007, they underwent a slight correction, and by 2008, a full-scale crash was underway."
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"Adventures With Danno, 10/18/23"
Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 10/18/23
"'Budget Friendly' Cleaning Supplies At Dollar Tree!"
"In today's vlog, we are at Dollar Tree, and we are checking out all of the cleaning products! We go through each item and discuss whether it is a good deal and whether it's good or bad quality."
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o
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Full screen recommended.
Travelling with Russell, 10/18/23
"Russian Typical (Moscow) Farmers Market:
What Did I Find?"
"What does a Russian farmer market really look like in the Capitol of Russia. Moscow. Discover all of the different foods from all over Russia brought together at the Tverskaya Ploshchad Market Fair. What interesting foods will I find?"
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Tuesday, October 17, 2023
Canadian Prepper, "Red Alert: Worldwide Riots; Embassies Stormed; Military Bases On Alert; Declarations Of War"
Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 10/17/23
"Red Alert: Worldwide Riots; Embassies Stormed;
Military Bases On Alert; Declarations Of War"
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"A Look to the Heavens"
"Dwarf galaxies NGC 147 (left) and NGC 185 stand side by side in this sharp telescopic portrait. The two are not-often-imaged satellites of M31, the great spiral Andromeda Galaxy, some 2.5 million light-years away. Their separation on the sky, less than one degree across a pretty field of view, translates to only about 35 thousand light-years at Andromeda's distance, but Andromeda itself is found well outside this frame.
Brighter and more famous satellite galaxies of Andromeda, M32 and M110, are seen closer to the great spiral. NGC 147 and NGC 185 have been identified as binary galaxies, forming a gravitationally stable binary system. But recently discovered faint dwarf galaxy Cassiopeia II also seems to be part of their system, forming a gravitationally bound group within Andromeda's intriguing population of small satellite galaxies."
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