"Luminarium"

"Luminarium"

“I have undertaken a labor, a labor out of love for the world, and to comfort noble hearts: those that I hold dear, and the world to which my heart goes out. Not the common world do I mean, of those who (as I have heard) cannot bear grief and desire but to bathe in bliss. (May God then let them dwell in bliss!) Their world and manner of life my tale does not regard: it's life and mine lie apart. Another world do I hold in mind, which bears together in one heart its bitter sweetness and its dear grief, its heart's delight and its pain of longing, dear life and sorrowful death, dear death and sorrowful life. In this world let me have my world, to be damned with it, or to be saved.”

- Gottfried Von Strassburg


"A comprehensive anthology and guide to English literature of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Seventeenth Century, Restoration and Eighteenth Century. This site combines several sites first created in 1996 to provide a starting point for students and enthusiasts of English Literature. Nothing replaces a quality library, but hopefully this site will help fill the needs of those who have not access to one.

Luminarium is the labor of love of Anniina Jokinen. The site is not affiliated with any institution nor is it sponsored by anyone other than its maintainer and the contributions of its visitors through revenues from book sales via Amazon.com, poster sales via All Posters, and advertising via Google AdSense.

For all materials, authorities in a given subject are consulted. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, and The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English are some of the general reference works consulted for accuracy of dates and details. Many of the materials collected here reside elsewhere. Quality and accuracy are concerns, and all materials are checked regularly. However, "Luminarium" cannot be held responsible for materials residing on other sites. Corrections and suggestions for improvements are encouraged from the visitors.

The site started in early 1996. I remember looking for essays to spark an idea for a survey class I was taking at the time. It seemed that finding study materials online was prohibitively difficult and time-consuming - there was no all-encompassing site which could have assisted me in my search. I started the site as a public service, because I myself had to waste so much time as a student, trying to find anything useful or interesting. There were only a handful of sites back then (read: Internet Dark Ages) and I could spend hours on search engines, looking for just a few things. I realized I must not be the only one in the predicament and started a simple one-page site of links to Middle English Literature. That page was soon followed by a Renaissance site.

Gradually it became obvious that the number of resources was ungainly for such a simple design. It was then that the multi-page "Medlit" and "Renlit" pages were created, around July 1996. That structure is still the same today. In September 1996, I started creating the "Sevenlit" site, launched in November. I realized the need to somehow unite all three sites, and that led to the creation of Luminarium. I chose the name, which is Latin for "lantern," because I wanted the site to be a beacon of light in the darkness. It was also befitting for a site containing authors considered "luminaries" of English literature."

- http://www.luminarium.org/

The Poet: Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”

“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

- Dylan Thomas

"In These Downbeat Times..."

"In these downbeat times, we need as much hope and courage as we do vision and analysis; we must accent the best of each other even as we point out the vicious effects of our racial divide and pernicious consequences of our maldistribution of wealth and power. We simply cannot live in the twenty-first century at each other s throats, even as we acknowledge the weighty forces of racism, economic inequality, homophobia, and ecological abuse on our necks. We are at a crucial crossroad in the history of this nation - and we either hang together by combating these forces that divide and degrade us or we hang separately. Do we have the intelligence, humor, imagination, courage, tolerance, love, respect, and will to meet the challenge? Time will tell. None of us alone can save the nation or world. But each of us can make a positive difference if we commit ourselves to do so."

- Cornel West

"How It Really Is"

 

"Considerable Knowledge..."

"It takes considerable knowledge just to

realize the extent of your own ignorance."

- Thomas Sowell

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Adventures With Danno, "Holiday Sales At Kroger, Stock Up Now!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 11/2/23

"Holiday Sales At Kroger, Stock Up Now!"

"In today's vlog, we are at Kroger in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, and we are showing all of the holiday sales for November 2023. We all need to take advantage of these sales as prices continue to go up all around the country!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "You Can’t Afford Lunch"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 11/2/23

"You Can’t Afford Lunch"

"Inflation is taking such a big bite out of people’s ability to eat out. Lunch has become to expensive for most of us. Plus, we are hearing huge problems with ensuring electric vehicles."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com

"World War III Update, 11/2/23"

Col. Douglas Macgregor, 11/2/23

"The Potential for a Third World War"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 11/2/23

"Col. Douglas Macgregor: Israeli Self-destruction In Gaza"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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"WW III Alert: Erdogan Threatens Invasion Of Israel &

 Netanyahu Calls For Total Gaza Bloodbath"

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"Sobering Analysis - Israel Cannot Destroy Hamas,

 And The USA Cannot Defeat Iran"

"Today we bring you part 2 of the hard-hitting interview with Dr. Shiva, plus a very important analysis of why Israel cannot destroy Hama, and why the USA can't defeat Iran. You need to know this information. The western press has lied to you about the capabilities of countries like Iran and Turkey. They are both actually more advanced than the USA and Israel in terms of military weaponry, drones, hypersonic missiles and more. Through arrogance and stupidity, the USA and Israel are walking right into a trap that could lead to the total destruction of Israel and the financial collapse of the U.S."

View this video here:

- https://www.brighteon.com/

Bill Bonner, "The War Corps"

"The War Corps"

Are we drunk on power, digging ourselves deeper,

 ignoring calls for peace and prosperity?

by Bill Bonner

'My generation… we’ve given nothing. We’ve given nothing! And now we want to screw our grandchildren…We’ve got to stop guys, we’re DRUNK....We're digging this deep hole...What are we doing here?’ ~ Stanley Druckenmiller

Normandy, France - "It is All Souls day. What do the shades have to say about us? Driving through Normandy this morning we passed through the town of Vimoutiers. There is nothing special about the town. Like so many others in Normandy, it was largely destroyed by Allied firepower in WWII. Today, it is drab. Uninteresting. Nothing to see. But in the town is a plaque recalling an instance of private generosity. Margaret Mitchell, author of ‘Gone with the Wind,’ had heard about what had happened during the war. She sent a check to rebuild the town’s hospital. In return, she was made an honorary citizen. She wrote a thank-you: “Nothing that has happened to me before has ever pleased and touched me as much as this honor which you and the Municipal Court of Vimoutiers have paid me.” She intended to visit the town, but was killed in a car crash in 1949. She was dead…but she left things behind that would be remembered and appreciated for generations.

Another Era: Back then, Americans were known for acts of kindness and generosity. The US economy boomed. Its lunch-bucket workers and wealthy investors grew richer together. Its dollar was the strongest currency in the world – backed by gold. Its trade with the rest of the world was in balance. So was its federal budget.

One generation comes on the scene. Another departs. What does it leave behind? In order to have something to leave, you must save. In order to save, you have to make more than you spend. That is, you have to take some of your output and set it aside. It is the part of your harvest you did not eat. It is the money you made, but did not spend. It is the trees you planted, but did not cut down…the houses you faithfully maintained…the public buildings you did not blow up.

But instead of encouraging saving, for the last 30 years, at least, the Fed has lured people to borrow and spend. It rewarded borrowers with the lowest interest rates in 5,000 years. It punished savers, leaving them with a return on their money that was, after inflation, negative.

Our generation, those of us born after WWII, was lucky. Jobs were plentiful. Housing and transportation were (relatively) cheap. And, since 1980, our assets – houses and stocks – rose. But we were lucky in other ways too. Our grandparents had brought forth the power of fossil fuels…greatly improving US output and giving us the richest country on earth. Our parents had just trounced Germany and Japan. Then, Eisenhower cut ‘defense’ spending, balanced the budget, protected the dollar, and warned us not to let the ‘military industrial complex’ get too big for its britches.

The War Corps: All over the world, people looked to America for leadership…as a country that would do the right thing…whose technology, books and movies set new standards…and whose institutions could be imitated. And for good reasons. The Marshall Plan was an American initiative to rebuild Europe, at a cost of $173 billion (in today’s money). American donors rebuilt Versailles and other priceless monuments. Private US citizens contributed to rebuilding churches…and restoring whole towns. Privately-supported charities, missionaries and relief organizations rushed to the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East offering whatever help they could. In 1961, John F. Kennedy created a “Peace Corps” which was intended to promote progress and harmony throughout the undeveloped world. In 1966, Jimmy Carter’s mother – at age 68 – signed up for service in India.

But how things change! The Peace Corps today is a legacy project of an earlier age, with a tiny budget, less than 1/10th of 1% of Pentagon spending. America still has no real enemies in the world – except for those it has created itself – Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, Palestine, China, Iran.

General Eisenhower brought military spending down. But it didn’t stay down. For the last 40 years, defense spending has gone up year after year. The old general was right…military/industrial complex lobbyists put our representatives in their pockets, like nickels and dimes. Now, the US spends more than the next 10 largest counties – combined. Little of this has much to do with defense – which could be accomplished with a lean, mean Eisenhower-style military at approximately one-third the present cost.

When we were young, we had a nation that was the envy of almost the whole world…with a huge net investment position with the rest of the planet. Today, we are the world’s biggest debtor, with an annual trade deficit of nearly $1 trillion. And now, even the Industrial Revolution seems to have run its course. We can introduce new machines, but we get only incremental gains. The use of traditional fuels is actually going down in the US.

Mea Culpa: As for the balanced budget, don’t make us laugh. The measure of our forward progress is the difference between what we produce and what we consume…and how it is used. It determines what we leave to our children.

But today’s US budget deficit – at 7% of GDP – leaves little for the next generation. Little is left to build new factories and create new jobs. As for rebuilding the factories of the Eastern Ukraine or hospitals of Gaza – who’s going to do that? Instead, we borrow more money to provide weapons to the Ukraine and Israel…so they can blow them up.

Back in the US, our existing capital base – our manufacturers, infrastructure, schools and hospitals – wear out. How can they be replaced? And we, the Baby Boomer generation…we have presided over a degradation of the USA in almost every category. Financial, economic, political, technological, moral…what do we have to say for ourselves? And what do we do when it becomes impossible to keep living in the style to which we’ve become accustomed? Do we own up…and straighten up? Or print more money?"

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"Alert! We're Going To War! House Res 559! US/Israel Ready Strike On Yemen/Iran, 36 Hours To Lebanon"

Full screen recommended.

Canadian Prepper, 11/1/23

"Alert! We're Going To War! House Res 559! 

US/Israel Ready Strike On Yemen/Iran, 36 Hours To Lebanon"

Comments here:

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"Moscow City Walking Tour, Skyscrapers of Russia. Summer Day City Walk With Real Ambient Sounds"

Full screen recommended.

"Moscow City Walking Tour, Skyscrapers of Russia. 

Summer Day City Walk With Real Ambient Sounds"

Wear headphones for the best experience.

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Comments? I'm speechless...

"Typical Russian Supermarket After 600 Days of Sanctions"

Full screen recommended.

Travelling with Russell, 11/1/23

"Typical Russian Supermarket After 600 Days of Sanctions"

"What does a typical Russian supermarket look like after 600 days of sanctions? How are the prices, and what does the inside of a typical Russian supermarket really look like?

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- https://www.youtube.com/

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

Full screen recommended.

Moby, "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Is our Milky Way Galaxy this thin? Magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565 is a stop on many telescopic tours of the northern sky, in the faint but well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices. This sharp, colorful image reveals the spiral galaxy's boxy, bulging central core cut by obscuring dust lanes that lace NGC 4565's thin galactic plane. 

An assortment of other background galaxies is included in the pretty field of view. Thought similar in shape to our own Milky Way Galaxy, NGC 4565 lies about 40 million light-years distant and spans some 100,000 light-years. Easily spotted with small telescopes, sky enthusiasts consider NGC 4565 to be a prominent celestial masterpiece Messier missed."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210517.html

"Look At The Extreme Social Insanity That Is Spreading All Over America"

Full screen recommended.

"Look At The Extreme Social Insanity 

That Is Spreading All Over America"

by Epic Economist

"If you want to know how extreme is the social decline that is spreading all over the United States, all you need to do is walk the streets of our biggest cities. You don’t even have to go to the “bad areas” to see the absurdities that are eating away our communities and destroying them from within. As we will show you in this video, even in the best parts of Washington D.C., filth, squalor, and disease are everywhere. New images show that only a couple of blocks away from the White House, countless needles can be seen on the ground, homeless encampments are taking over national parks, and the rate of delinquencies has spiked to the highest levels in history. The same is true for many other areas that used to be prosperous and economically and socially stable. Unfortunately, their decay is happening at a frightening pace and will only continue to accelerate as economic conditions go from worse to catastrophic in 2023.

Exactly one block behind the White House, dozens of homeless encampments were scattered throughout city streets and even into national parks. Severe sanitation issues, including human waste, used needles, and trash piling up everywhere left Johnson in disbelief. At D.C. Sparkle street, glass from smashed car windows posed a threat to everyday citizens walking by. Even in front of St. Johns Cathedral, garbage dominated the landscape.

Until 2017, Johnson said he didn’t see a single tent near public buildings. As he interviewed local residents, it became clear that people don’t feel safe and they say that new problems emerge on a daily basis. “Disease, decay, and people that don’t care about this nation running things, and running them directly to the ground. This is an apt metaphor for a country in decline” Johnson stressed. On the West Coast, things are no different. In recent years, Portland, once considered one of the finest cities in America, has become something short of a dystopia, where shop owners sleep with self-defense tools behind their pillows, and citizens must act as law enforcement agents.

This crisis is unfolding at a pace that is just breathtaking. According to Joel Kotkin, the Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Urban Reform Institute, the social decay that is rotting the foundations of U.S. cities is systemic and getting worse over time.

“The old saying that “the city air makes one free” all too often means freedom to be poor, to experience endemic homelessness, collapsing public infrastructure and rising neglect,” Kotkin says. “As cities slowly fall to pieces, they are increasingly becoming no-go zones for investors and business. Barely ten percent of US companies are interested in investing in large urban areas,” the expert reveals.

Sadly, it appears that our leaders are not too worried about restoring the economic and social balance this country needs to start thriving again. Year after year, our social decline intensifies, and our major cities continue to collapse all around us. If you love America, you should be completely disgusted by what is happening to our country. What do you think our founders would say if they could see what our cities have become? They would certainly be deeply ashamed of us. And we should be deeply ashamed of ourselves too because we should have never allowed our beloved country to sink so low."

- https://www.epiceconomist.com/

"What Foolish Forgetfulness..."

“You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your frailty ever enters your head, of how much time has already gone by you take no heed. You squander time as if you drew from a full and abundant supply, so all the while that day which you bestow on some person or thing is perhaps your last. You have all the fears of mortals and all the desires of immortals… What foolish forgetfulness of mortality to defer wise resolutions to the fiftieth or sixtieth year, and to intend to begin life at a point to which few have attained.”

- Denis Diderot

"Life..."

 

The Daily "Near You?"

Linesville, Pennsylvania, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Major Banks Are Closing Hundreds Of Branches As Mass Layoffs Signal Collapse"

Full screen recommended.

The Atlantis Report, 11/1/23

"Major Banks Are Closing Hundreds Of 

Branches As Mass Layoffs Signal Collapse"

"The closure of a large number of branches by major United States banks is raising red flags. Many experts are viewing it as a foreboding indication of a looming financial crisis. In a bid to brace for the upcoming financial crisis, banks are not only shutting branches but also laying off thousands of employees. This comes as the response to mounting pressures due to factors such as record high interest rates and turbulence in the real estate market, which is leading major financial institutions like JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs to report substantial losses. This is a huge concern among economists and they are anticipating a collapse in the economy. The reason they are reducing their physical footprint is that there will be mass withdrawals and decreased physical visits. This sets us up for a very dark winter ahead as more and more banks will face collapse."

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Must View! Scott Ritter, "Game Over: The Brutal Truth About Israel/Hamas War"

Full screen recommended.

Scott Ritter, 11/1/23

"Game Over: 

The Brutal Truth About Israel/Hamas War"

Comments here:

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"World War III Update, 11/1/23"

Full screen recommended.

Douglas Macgregor Daily, 11/1/23

"World War 3? Will the US Fight

 the Muslims, Russia and China?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

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Full screen recommended.

Vantage with Palki Sharma, 11/1/23

"Israel Bombs Gaza's Biggest Refugee Camp, 

At Least 50 Killed"

"Israeli forces claim that this operation took down a Hamas commander and "several terrorists". Disturbing visuals have emerged from the site of the attack, triggering massive uproar."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/w

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Full screen recommended.

ABC News, 11/1/23

"IDF Confirms 2nd Strike On 

Jabalia Refugee Camp in Gaza"

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Full screen recommended.

Hindustan Times, 11/1/23

"Russia Backs Israel's Staunch Enemy; 

Putin Aide Warns Netanyahu Against Bombardment Of Arab Ally"

"Russia has warned Israel against airstrikes on Syria, calling them “unacceptable”. Israel has reportedly bombed Syria at least thrice since the October 7 Hamas’ assault. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, also targeted the west, saying “external forces” are exploiting the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict to settle their geopolitical scores."

Comments here:

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o

Full screen recommended.

Democracy Now!, 11/1/23

“'Genocide': Top U.N. Official Craig Mokhiber Resigns, 

Denounces Israeli Assault on Gaza"

"A former top United Nations official in New York joins us for an in-depth interview about why he has resigned after publicly accusing the U.N. of failing to address what he calls a "text-book case of genocide" unfolding in Gaza. Craig Mokhiber is a longtime international human rights lawyer who served as director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. His resignation letter has gone viral. In one of his first interviews since leaving his post, Mokhiber tells _Democracy Now!_ the U.N. follows a "different set of rules" when addressing Israel's violations of international law, refusing to utilize its enforcement mechanisms and thus "effectively" acting as "a smokescreen behind which we have seen further and worsening dispossession of Palestinians." He says it is an "open secret inside the halls of the United Nations that the so-called two-state solution is effectively impossible," and calls for international actors to push for a "new paradigm" in the region based on "equality for all." We also discuss the inaction of the International Criminal Court, global suppression of pro-Palestinian advocacy, bad-faith accusations of antisemitism and more."

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"How It Really Is"

 

"Confessions of a Sworn Sinner"

"Confessions of a Sworn Sinner"

From weapons of mass distraction to the sturm 

and drang of US politics and plenty more besides...

by Bill Bonner and Joel Bowman

Dublin, Ireland - "We are recounting the story of the 21st century, as told by a sinner. Yes, according to many Dear Readers, we have erred and strayed like a lost lamb. We failed to see how the internet and dot.com companies would make us all rich. And then, we wouldn’t stand up and cheer when the Bush administration announced its invasion of Iraq.

If you don’t get fully on-board with the latest popular delirium, you risk getting labeled a ‘denier’…a traitor…or an anti-Semite. In 2002, for example, everybody knew Saddam Hussein was a son-of-a-bitch. And he had ‘weapons of mass destruction;’ everybody said so. But he didn’t. And it wasn’t the first time the American public was misled by its own government and its propaganda press.

At the beginning of WWI, Americans were told that the Huns were spearing Belgian babies with their bayonets, raping nuns en masse (so to speak), and cutting off hands by the thousands. Naturally, the public was quickly riled up against all things German. But when a commission was sent to look into these charges, it could find no one missing a hand and no credible reports of rape or infanticide.

Always in Doubt: Likewise, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, outrage in the US reached a fever pitch as a young girl reported that she had seen Iraqi soldiers take premature babies out of incubators and throw them on the floor to die. It later turned out that it wasn’t true. The Kuwait government had hired US consultant firm Hill & Knowlton to spin the story for the benefit of the US media. The propaganda press went to work with it, providing a reason to bring the US into the war; again, mission accomplished.

Last month we were told that terrorists had beheaded Israeli babies. Joe Biden confirmed it. The Times of Israel: "Netanyahu’s office releases horrifying images of infants murdered by Hamas. The PMO said the photos released were some of what was shown earlier Thursday to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, adding that they are “difficult-to-see images of babies murdered and burned by the monsters of Hamas. Hamas are not human. Hamas is ISIS.”

What actually happened? Reuters said the photos showed no beheaded babies. Forensic experts noted that when you blow things up, you also blow off heads as well as arms and legs. Snopes.com concludes a report on the subject: "In part, many questions about the violence remain unanswered because journalists have limited access to many parts of Israel and Palestine due to safety threats and military brigades.

Among the few who have gotten access, however, was Oren Ziv, a reporter with the left-leaning Israeli news organization +972 Magazine. He shared on X a different account of what he heard from soldiers. Of the reports about decapitated infants, he said, "we didn't see any evidence of this, and the army spokesperson or commanders also didn't mention any such incidents." What to think? What to believe?

Sacred Elephants: In the Trump years, many Dear Readers were bent out of shape by our failure to see how great the president was. They thought he was making America great again; he had said so himself. But whatever the obiter dicta of a windy prima donna, Trump’s policies were opposite to those we needed. America had problems. But they weren’t problems that could be solved by more firepower and more debt.

And then came Joe Biden. For all the sturm and drang of US politics, the remarkable thing was how little policies actually changed. Every branch of government continued more or less as was before, unmolested by the new regime. Military spending went up – no matter who was in power. And deficits (despite a pause after the Covid Panic receded) increased.

In 2022, the US finally goaded Russia into a war with the Ukraine…and then blocked a negotiated peace between the two of them. This year, it turned its attention to the Eastern Mediterranean, where it ‘stands with Israel’, and resists calls for a ceasefire. In the view of the US mainstream press – and many of our Dear Readers – the US was merely fulfilling its role as leader of the free world. But the dots were not lining up for us. It looked more like the degenerate empire taking another big step towards a disgraceful end – inflation and war, besmirched by war crimes.

By this time, the US had been on the downslope for nearly a quarter of a century. People had learned their parts. Members of the House no longer pretended to balance the budget. They didn’t bother with budgets at all. They simply lurched from one debt ceiling…and one stopgap spending bill…to the next. Senators, meanwhile, no longer debated the pros and cons of our overseas garrisons, but ceded their responsibilities to an all-powerful executive elite. The Biden Administration – aided and abetted by lobbyists, donors, and the media – made the decisions.

Hootin’ and Howlin’: Generals returned from their failures - in Iraq or Afghanistan - and were treated as military sages. Come each artillery barrage, they went before the cameras to explain why more firepower, more spending…and more meddling...were in the national interest. Then, they collected their checks from Raytheon or General Dynamics…and awaited the next flare up.

The role of the masses was merely to stand up, hoot and howl in approval. Everyone played his role as best he could. Even the cynics and naysayers have their parts to play. Marcus Tullius Cicero in ancient Rome, opposed the Empire, with its far-flung wars abroad and concentrated power in the emperor at home. There was another sinner; he made enemies of the rich and powerful by insisting on sticking with traditional republican values. For his pains, he was exiled and later executed – and beheaded! Someone should read the script. It doesn’t have a happy ending."

Joel’s Note: "Speaking of unhappy endings, billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller has warned that the federal government’s reckless spending may lead to some tough decisions i the coming years, including potentially making deep cuts to Social Security. “We are spending like drunken sailors,” Druckenmiller told CNBC’s Squawk Box. “Don’t forget pre-Covid ... the federal government was 20% of GDP in spending. Now it’s 25% of GDP. ... My father told me ‘if you’re in a hole, stop digging Stan.’”

Druckenmiller suggested entitlement payments, which make up about half of the federal budget, might find themselves on the chopping block after years of profligacy by those in Washington DC. “I want to go after entitlements. It’s where the money is,” he said. “This generation has got to take a cut ... right now current seniors, you’re going to get 100 cents on the dollar. Future seniors looking at five or 10 cents on the dollar, is it not unreasonable for us to go to 85 or 90 cents on the dollar?”

Druckenmiller was on the rampage earlier this week, too, making the case against Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for not rolling over more debt at lower rates when she had the chance. Said Druckenmiller: “I literally think if you go back to Alexander Hamilton, it is the biggest blunder in the history of the Treasury...I have no idea why she hasn’t been called on this. She has no right to still be in that job.”

Ouchie! According to the Congressional Budget Office, annual government spending will be $10 trillion by 2033. (It was $6.3 trillion last year). That’s $3 trillion dollar deficits… with interest payments alone weighing in at around 7% of GDP… or 144% of all discretionary spending. As our own macro-analyst, Dan Denning puts it…“We'll be spending all our money on our maxed out credit card, and borrowing the rest for wars, social security, and medicare. But who are we going to borrow from? China?”

Now, if only some past empire had exhausted itself through military misadventure abroad… and reckless spending at home… from which we might be able to learn a thing or two. Anyone? Anyone? (Bueller…? Bueller…?)"

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"Dollar Tree Grocery Items That Are Great To Stock Up On!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, 11/1/23

"Dollar Tree Grocery Items 

That Are Great To Stock Up On!"

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Gregory Mannarino,, "Prepare For A Credit Freeze, The System Is Coming Apart Faster!"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 11/1/23

"Prepare For A Credit Freeze, 

The System Is Coming Apart Faster!"

- https://traderschoice.net.

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Dan, I Allegedly, "This Will Be a November to Remember"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly 11/1/23

"This Will Be a November to Remember"

"So much is happening during the month of November 2023. The real estate industry is about to change forever. We are seeing the fact that the FED is losing control of inflation and business will forever be changed."

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Jeremiah Babe, "People Are One Paycheck Away From Disaster"

Jeremiah Babe, 10/31/23

"People Are One Paycheck Away From Disaster; 

Banks In Trouble Get Out; FED Will Crash It All"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Gorgeous spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years away, toward the constellation Leo. Relatively bright in planet Earth's sky, NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like M66 and M65. It's hard to overlook in this colorful cosmic portrait, though. Spanning some 50,000 light-years the galaxy sports characteristic patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with dust, pink star forming regions, and clusters of young, blue stars.

Remarkably, this deep image also finds NGC 3521 embedded in gigantic bubble-like shells. The shells are likely tidal debris, streams of stars torn from satellite galaxies that have undergone mergers with NGC 3521 in the distant past."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210402.html

"Promise Me..."

 

“More to Come…”

“More to Come…”

By Jeff Thomas

“Years ago, when visiting the US, I’d often watch late night television. Just prior to each interval, in order to ensure that viewers would sit through the adverts, the show would run a panel that said, “More to Come.” This, of course, was effective, as the viewer would be anticipating that the best part of the program would come in a later segment and would be more likely to continue watching.

Today, we’re looking at the reverse of that situation. The program we’re watching is The Decline and Fall of the American Empire and those who recognize the decline are viewing with ever-increasing trepidation, the developments that are unfolding there. Even those of us who are not American and don’t live there are glued to our screens, as we’re aware that were viewing the early stages of a collapse that promises to be the greatest social, political and economic event that we’re likely to see in our lifetimes.

Following World War Two, the US was in a boom beyond anything the world had ever seen. The Americans came to the war late, after having built up their manufacturing capacity for war dramatically, at the expense of the Allied powers in Europe. And they did this, essentially for free. It was paid for with the gold from the vaults of the European allies. After the war, Europe was trashed and it would take decades for them to get on their feet again. Meanwhile, the US had been going flat out in production, had first-rate modern factories and, most important, held the majority of the world’s gold.

The 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement ensured that the US dollar would become the world’s default currency and, later, become the petrodollar, ensuring American hegemony over much of the rest of the world. There can be no doubt that, in the first decades after the war, the US had an amazing run and was, arguably, one of the best places to live in the world.

But, unfortunately, as so often happens, American political and industry leaders became full of themselves and couldn’t resist going out on limb to gain even more for themselves. In so doing, they turned the US from the world’s foremost creditor nation into the world’s foremost debtor nation. Worse, when they reached this unprecedented point, they opted to just keep going.

Worse still, it would appear that today’s leaders are aware that the mother of all bubbles that they’ve created is going to pop sometime in the near future, as they’re preparing themselves for the mother of all pushbacks from the populace when the crashes come.

The FBI, CIA, NSA, and a host of other authorities have either been created or expanded, allowing the creation of the world’s foremost police state. And, beginning in 2001 with the Patriot Act, have created a host of laws to assign authority to any of those bodies to exert ever-increasing control over the population. Capital controls, migration controls, higher taxes, confiscation of deposits in banks and quite a bit more have been passed in legislation, including the ability to declare the US in its entirely to be a “battle zone,” through which habeas corpus and the court system can be suspended nationally.

Yipes. (Or, blimey, depending on where you’re from.) At this point, any American who’s paying attention could be forgiven if he’s genuinely frightened at where his government is going with all this.

And so, we come back to the title of this essay – “More to Come.” A regular flow of proposed laws is now coming down the pipeline that would have been considered the stuff of a bad movie a few decades ago, but is now only too real and threatening to the freedoms of the average citizen. Instead of “more to come” meaning that the best is still on the way, the opposite would appear to be the case, and the worst is here, now.

But, how can this be, we ask ourselves. Surely those in power – the politicians, the industrialists, the central bankers, etc., must have seen this coming and, if that’s so, surely they’d have done something to stop it. Well, historically, that’s never been the case. Those in the greatest positions of power have never suddenly reversed an empire when it was about to self-destruct. What they tend to do instead is to guard against becoming casualties of the disaster they’ve created.

So, is that what’s happening this time around? In a word, yes.

The Bernie Madoffs of the world go to jail. However, those who commit the same fraudulent acts from within the system never go to jail. For example, if the heads of a bank commit massive fraud, the bank pays an enormous fine. The fine is then paid by the stockholders. And should the fine be large enough to crash the bank, the bankers can appeal to the government to bail them out, as they’re “too big to fail.” Thus, the taxpayers pick up the bill.

At this point, what we’re witnessing is an era in which laws are regularly being passed to ensure that the creators of the bubble will get a “Get Out of Jail Free” card and others will sustain the losses.

This is the very essence of what happens in an endgame run. Just as a hitman who places a bomb in a building makes his exit before the bomb can go off, the creators of bubbles safeguard themselves before the economic bomb can go off. They have no intention of being around to live with the resultant devastation that they’ve put into play.

Pete Townshend wrote prophetically, “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” in 1971, in which he hopes that the latest gang of leaders will be better than the last. In the final line of the song, he grimly announces, “Meet the new boss – same as the old boss.”

And, in fact, this is the usual outcome. Perhaps the reason why empires collapse much in the same way, time and again, and their citizens consistently fail to see it coming, is that empires general last a long time before collapsing. The Venetian Republic lasted 200 years. The Spanish Empire lasted just over 120 years. Holland lasted 130 years, Russia – 200, the UK, just under 120. And it’s been much the same for the others. In every case, they last longer than a single lifetime, so it’s rare that any individual sees more than one empire collapse in his own lifetime and doesn’t understand that empires don’t end with a whimper. They end with a crescendo, not unlike the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

We are witnessing the collapse of the world’s foremost empire. This is not mere conjecture. The US has all the symptoms that we’re now coming close to the final stages. And, if history plays out yet again, as it has repeatedly, we can expect that, in the lead-up to the collapse, the controls by governments will become increasingly draconian. As we consider, “more to come,” we should be braced for the likelihood that the worst controls are yet to be revealed.”

- http://www.swpcayman.com/

"Beware of a False Flag To Kick-Start World War 3"

"Beware of a False Flag To Kick-Start World War 3"

by Nick Giambruno

"A false flag is an incident designed to deceive people into thinking someone else actually carried it out. It’s like the scene in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. There’s a character who plays on the high school football team and has a fancy sports car. Later, his little brother’s friend accidentally trashes this car. Terrified at how the big brother could respond, they devise a clever plan to shift the blame on someone else. They make it look like the rival football team vandalized the car, decorating it in the rival team’s colors and slogans. The plan works. The big brother is tricked into thinking that a rival football team trashed his car instead of the little brother.

This is the essence of a false flag. Governments and intelligence services use the same tactic to nefarious effect. Take the Mukden Incident in 1931. The Japanese fabricated an attack to justify the invasion of Manchuria. In 1939, before invading Poland, Nazi Germany staged an attack. They made the Poles look like the attackers.

There was the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964. That’s when North Vietnam supposedly fired torpedoes at a US warship. The torpedoes missed, and there was no damage. But that made no difference…President Lyndon Johnson interrupted national television later that evening. In a fiery speech, he rallied the American people against this attack on the US military. It was the official start of the Vietnam War… one of the biggest disasters in US history. And it all started with the "attack" in the Gulf of Tonkin. Except the torpedo attack never happened. It was a false pretext for entering the Vietnam War.

Fast forward to 2014, to the sniper attacks in Kiev, Ukraine. It catalyzed the overthrow of the pro-Russian government. But it’s believed to be a false flag attack. Then there was the 2017 chemical weapons attack in Syria. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh claims it was a false flag attack intended to get the US directly involved in the Syrian war.

So why am I telling you about this now? There are two reasons. First, so you understand this devious tactic and are not fooled by it. False flag attacks are often the pretexts to launch big wars. Second, because the situation today in the Middle East is ripe for a false flag incident to cause a war with Iran, that could escalate and ignite a global war.

USS Liberty Redux? It was the deadliest attack on an American ship since World War 2…It was a clear, sunny day on June 8, 1967 - during the Six-Day War - and the USS Liberty was 13 miles off the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula in international waters. Israeli aircraft made several low-altitude fly-overs of the ship, which was flying a large US flag from the bridge and was clearly marked "USS Liberty." There was no mistaking it for anything but a US ship.

Then, at around 2 PM, the Israelis attacked with fighter jets, which dropped bombs and napalm and then strafed the Liberty’s deck. The initial attack disabled the ship’s communication system, making it impossible to broadcast a distress signal. After the fighter jets left, Israeli torpedo boats launched their torpedoes at the Liberty, with one delivering a direct and devastating hit.

Around the same time, several Israeli helicopters loaded with soldiers in full combat gear hovered over the Liberty. The Israelis then machine-gunned the lifeboats which had been launched to try to save the wounded.

The attack was fast and furious. Many believe the intent was to sink the ship and leave no survivors. That is exactly what would have happened had it not been for the heroic efforts of one sailor, who risked machine gun fire to repair the Liberty’s antenna so they could send a distress signal out.

The Israelis intercepted the distress signal and called off the attack. In the end, the attack killed 34 US sailors and wounded a further 174 - about 67% of the entire crew. Israel claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and they mistook the USS Liberty for an Egyptian vessel.

The US government more or less accepted Israel’s explanation, swept the incident under the rug, and threatened survivors with court martial if they ever spoke about it. However, as detailed in the authoritative book, "The Attack on the Liberty," many sailors who survived the USS Liberty attack find the official explanation implausible and ridiculous. They believe it was a deliberate attack intended to sink the ship and kill the entire crew.

Presuming the survivors are correct, nobody knows Israel’s true motivation in attacking the USS Liberty. Some believe it was a failed false flag attack. The idea was to sink the ship, leaving no survivors, and then pin the blame on Egypt to force the US to enter the Six-Day War on Israel’s side.

The reason I am bringing up the story of the USS Liberty is that an eerily similar situation is unfolding right now. Following Hamas’ recent attack out of the Gaza Strip, the Middle East is on the brink of the largest regional war in decades. The US has sent an armada of ships to the Eastern Mediterranean, not far from where the USS Liberty incident occurred 56 years ago. The situation is ripe for a false flag incident that forces the US into the war, which will undoubtedly bring in Iran and its allies. However, it could expand beyond the Middle East because Russia and China stand behind Iran and its allies. In short, the Middle East is on the precipice of a large regional war that could escalate to a global war.

World War 3 is a possibility. All that is needed to kick it all off is a catalyzing event, just like how other big wars started. A false flag attack on a US ship in the Eastern Mediterranean would do the trick. Unfortunately, most people have no idea how close we are to a catastrophe of historical proportions, let alone how to prepare... The coming crisis could be much worse, much longer, and very different than what we’ve seen since World War 2. Countless millions throughout history were wiped out as big powers collided."

- https://internationalman.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

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

"15 Shortages That Will Hit Grocery Retailers Next Month"

Full screen recommended.

Epic Economist, 10/31/23

"15 Shortages That Will Hit Grocery Retailers Next Month"

"Are you ready for the shortages that are about to hit grocery stores in November and beyond? The production of many beloved snacks, meats, nuts, fruits, and other key staples has suffered immense challenges over the past twelve months, and retailers are scrambling to source popular items and find new suppliers as seasonal demand starts picking up. For example, the food industry is rebounding from the outbreak of avian influenza that pushed egg prices up by more than 40% and caused major chicken shortages that hit U.S. restaurants and supermarkets. In recent years, millions of eggs were destroyed in an effort to control the contagion, but millions of chickens that were supposed to grow to enter the market in 2023 are simply not there. Even though some farmers and ranchers say the worst is seemingly over, that doesn’t mean things came back to normal. Food processors are focusing on the production of more profitable chicken products due to the limited supply, leaving low-margin products behind. Consequently, popular snacks like chicken nuggets and chicken fingers haven’t been produced at the same scale as prior years, and shoppers are already reporting stockouts. It might take years before a recovery occurs, which will force everyone, from food makers to the end consumer, to continue to adapt.

Similarly, tofu has become widely popular among Americans now that a shift to plant-based foods has begun. Given its versatility, and nutritional value, many vegetarians and vegans can’t live without it, though carnivores can enjoy the protein too. But experts say the global soybean shortage is about to hit tofu production really hard. The Crop Production report issued by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service forecasts a 10% decline in tofu production during the current fiscal year compared to last year’s numbers. Even worse, production declined to 4.10 billion bushels in the third quarter, compared to 15.1 billion bushels in the same period in 2018. Crop yields are getting smaller year after year all around the world, in several countries, shortages of soybean-based products are already being reported. For example, in Canada, tofu shortages are happening in many cities, with Quebec stores almost entirely sold out of the item. It’s only a matter of time before this hits American grocers as well, which will likely force those on a plant-based diet to find substitutes.

Without a doubt, American consumers are being left with fewer options to choose from. This year, we've witnessed a period of relative calm on supply chains compared to a few years ago, but that doesn't mean that problems have been fixed, or that reserves were finally restored. In fact, grocers are now running out of several foods, and consumers are coping with price hikes and limited options at stores, a trend that will only intensify as we move closer to the holiday celebrations. Nowadays, changing consumption behavior is no longer a matter of want but of need. Some substitutions will be imposed on us, while others may only be temporary. In any case, this is far from ideal, and the fact that our domestic agricultural and livestock production is falling across the board is a major sign of trouble for all of us. Our food systems are extremely vulnerable at this moment, and many more products could disappear from shelves in the coming months.

If you haven't restocked your pantry yet, this might be your last chance before retail inventories shrink even further over the next couple of months. To help you prepare for the chaos ahead, we prepared a list of essential items that are going to become impossible to find this winter, so make sure you watch this video until the end to discover which shortages will impact you the most."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"World War III Update, 10/31/23"

Canadian Prepper, 10/31/23

"Alert! New Country Enters War; Dimona Plutonium Plant; 

USA Threatens Iran; Egypt Mobilizing"

"Conflict is spreading at breakneck speed. 

The Apocalypse is a given at this point."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

CBS News, 10/31/23

"Israeli Airstrike Hits Gaza Refugee Camp"

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- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Hindustan Times, 10/31/23

"Hezbollah Attacks Israel In North After Houthis Strikes South;

 Iran-Backed Militias Refuse To Budge"

Iran-backed militias continue to attack Israel amid the Gaza ground offensive. Hezbollah has launched missiles at Israeli defence posts in the north. The IDF said missiles were fired at two key positions on the northern border. The IDF stated that their troops are responding with artillery shelling at the sources of missile fire. The attacks followed Israel's strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon."

Comments here: 

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 10/31/23

"Scott Ritter, Dangers to the US of Israeli Invasions"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Gregory Mannarino, PM 10/31/23

"Declaration Of War: 

The Destruction Of American And The World"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Redacted, 10/30/23

"Scott Ritter, "Israel Is Committing 

SUICIDE If They Do This In Egypt"

"Newly leaked documents show Israel's plan for pushing 2.3 million Palestinians out of Gaza and into Egypt. Former U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter says this would be a war crime and Egypt won't stand for it. Further Ritter says this would be suicide for Israel if it continues down this path."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/