Friday, July 19, 2024

Bill Bonner, "Pattern Recognition"

"Pattern Recognition"
If the pattern holds, America will sink further into debt and …
and its capital – in stocks, bonds, and real estate – will become less valuable.
by Bill Bonner

"Those whom the gods would destroy are first driven mad."
- Euripides

Poitou, France - "MarketWatch: "Trump promises ‘massive tax cuts’ and an end to inflation in convention speech. ‘I will end the devastating inflation crisis immediately, bring down interest rates and lower the cost of energy,” Trump said during his wide-ranging address. “We will drill, baby, drill,” he added, predicting that will “lead to a large-scale decline in prices.’ Hold onto your hats; it’s going to be a wild ride. Anything could happen; but an end to inflation is unlikely.

In 1999, the US was master of itself, and the world. As late as 2008, it could still control its national debt and raise interest rates, if necessary, to cool inflation and protect the dollar. But today, it is trapped. The debt is six times bigger. It now controls us. The Fed can lower rates; it can’t raise them... or, not by much. And as the debt grows, so does the pressure not to fight inflation at all, but to welcome it... or even cause it. Inflation will be a policy choice.

The US government is the world’s largest debtor. Its debts are, of course, calibrated in dollars, a currency it just happens to control. By lowering rates (and printing money) it causes prices to rise, and reduces the real value of its own debt.

America has entered a ‘silly season.’ It has been on top of the world for so long... thus deprived of oxygen... it seems to have suffered a kind of brain damage. Its leaders say ‘crazy’ things... do silly things... Stop inflation? Why not pay off the national debt too... and grow orchids on the moon? But let us continue our brief history... we look at how we got where we are... how we became the world’s most powerful nation - ever. Then, we may see the rest of the pattern more clearly.

New Money System: Among the critical enabling events, mentioned here often, was Nixon’s ditching of the gold standard. Thereafter, politicians had almost unlimited power to raise money without discomfiting voters. Borrowing credit dollars - produced by the new money system - allowed the feds to spend money that had not yet been earned, let alone taxed. Instead, it passed the bill to non-voters, the next generation, in the form of inflation.

It was this scammy financing that - in part - allowed another big enabling event. Ronald Reagan’s advisors - not including our friend David Stockman -convinced the Gipper that the Soviet Union was an existential threat to America. To protect the nation, Reagan abandoned his ‘conservative’ economics in favor of an activist agenda, financed on credit. And why not? Deficits didn’t matter; a debt crisis and inflation were far in the future.

Reagan’s administration added 160% to US debt... the third biggest presidential gain, following Roosevelt and Wilson. But it wasn’t just the money that changed things, it was what happened to the money... and what it did to the USA.
Most of the extra spending went to the military. From there, much of it went to the private sector firepower industry... and a substantial part of that was put to work paying lobbyists, politicians, ‘think tanks’ and universities to sing the praises of... yes, the firepower industry.

In effect, the warmongers, neocons, and big defense suppliers bought control of the government with money supplied by the US taxpayer.

The Reagan Administration also marked the beginning of a major political change. No longer a ‘conservative’ party that eschewed unnecessary spending, debt and overseas military adventures... the Republicans became activists, big spenders and world improvers. Instead of counterbalancing the Democrats’ Big Government plans, Republicans took the key elements – overspending at home and over-meddling abroad - for its own.

Today, the cost of the empire’s muscle is $1.3 trillion per year. Politically, it can’t be trimmed. Any politician who tries is marginalized.

The other big component is Social Security/Medicare. Mr. Trump has promised to cut taxes... but not cut a penny from either Social Security/Medicare... or from the military. So, the debt rises. And the government’s monetary and foreign policies must now be adapted... not for the benefit of the American people, but to accommodate the debt and the powerful special interests who benefit from it. And now, if the pattern holds, America will sink further into debt and …and its capital – in stocks, bonds, and real estate – will become less valuable. More to come... "

Adventures With Danno, "Stocking Up At Sam's Club!"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, AM 7/19/24
"Stocking Up At Sam's Club!"
"In today's vlog, we are at Sam's Club and are stocking up on some of these great sales going on for the month of July 2024! We take you with us as we show all the different deals and things we are adding to our stockpile!"
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"Just Like Joe Biden, The U.S. Economy Is Sick Once Again"

"Just Like Joe Biden, 
The U.S. Economy Is Sick Once Again"
by Michael Snyder

"When you look at Joe Biden, you are also getting a visual picture of what is happening to our economy as a whole. Both have been getting artificially propped up for a long time, both are now sick once again, and both are starting to decline very rapidly at this point. There is lots of speculation that Joe Biden is not going to be able to make it much longer, and of course the exact same thing could be said about the U.S. economy. Sadly, the truth is that the clock won’t stop ticking and time is not on the side of either one of them.

On Wednesday, we learned that Joe Biden has once again tested positive for COVID…"President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 following an event Wednesday in Las Vegas, the White House confirmed. This is the third time the president has tested positive for the virus. And Biden is not alone: the positivity rates for COVID-19 have been increasing recently, as have visits to the emergency department and deaths. Biden, 81, is vaccinated and boosted and is “experiencing mild symptoms,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement."

The White House is trying to make it sound like this isn’t a big deal, but Biden certainly didn’t look like he was just “experiencing mild symptoms” when he arrived in Delaware on Wednesday night

The 81-year-old – whose political future is in jeopardy due to his age – walked very slowly off Air Force One, pausing multiple times. He then put on a mask on inside the black SUV that carted him off to his beach house in Rehoboth. Biden also appeared to need some assistance as he slowly nudged himself into the car before the motorcade pulled away.

Of course this is happening at a time when speculation that Biden could drop out of the race has reached a fever pitch. Axios is reporting that some “top Democrats” believe that Biden could make an announcement “as soon as this weekend”…"Several top Democrats privately tell us the rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend." Personally, I don’t know if Biden is ready to throw in the towel quite yet. But we shall see what happens.

Meanwhile, more bad economic news continues to pour in. For example, we are being told that home eviction filings are way up all over the nation…"Home evictions are on the rise in several major cities nationwide as Americans continue to grapple with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Eviction filings over the past year are up more than 15% compared with the period before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 10 cities across the country, according to the Eviction Lab, a research unit at Princeton University. The Eviction Lab tracks 10 states and 34 cities."

However, the problem is noticeably worse in five cities, where the eviction rate is at least 30% higher than it was before the pandemic started. Whether someone is seeking to rent or buy, housing costs have soared into unprecedented territory. And this is one of the biggest reasons why so many Americans are so deeply frustrated with the economy right now.

According to Fox Business, the “median monthly housing payment for homebuyers in swing states” has risen 92 percent since the last presidential election…"The cost of buying a house has surged in recent years, as high mortgage rates and rising home prices put ownership out of reach for many Americans. The problem is even worse for the millions living in key battleground states that could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

New findings from Redfin show the combination of steep mortgage rates and elevated home prices has pushed the median monthly housing payment for homebuyers in swing states to an all-time high of $2,161 – a 92% increase from the 2020 election." This is going to have an enormous impact on how people vote, and that is not good news for the Democrats at all.

At the same time, banking industry problems continue to mount and local branches continue to be shut down at a staggering pace…"US banks closed 28 branches across the country in just one week in July. Wells Fargo, Bank of America and US Bank each closed eight locations in the last week. The remaining locations were closed by Greenville Fed, Chase and Schaumberg Bank & Trust, who each closed one branch." Watch the banking industry, because I believe that this will eventually become a huge story during the months ahead.

Retailers are permanently shutting down lots of locations too. In fact Stop & Shop just announced that they will be closing 32 grocery stores…"Stop & Shop is closing 32 underperforming grocery stores across the US northeast as part of the company’s efforts to improve its financial performance. Shoppers are also being squeezed by higher prices at the grocery store, with food prices experiencing modest upticks last month, according to the newest inflation report.

“Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand,” said the chain’s president Gordon Reid in a release."

Needless to say, that isn’t even worth comparing to what Walgreens is getting ready to do. The plan is to shutter more than 2,000 Walgreens locations before it is all over, and that is really bad news for those that have come to depend upon that chain…"Shoppers, it may be time to find a new pharmacy. Walgreens is closing up to a quarter of its 8,600 stores within the United States. Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth recently explained to the Wall Street Journal on June 27 that the closures would focus on locations that aren’t profitable, too close to each other or stores struggling with theft."

Unfortunately, this is just the beginning, because vast hordes are businesses are likely to go belly up during the coming years. According to one recent survey, almost half of our small businesses are convinced that they will not survive “the current economic climate, ongoing inflation or another four years of Biden administration policies”…"Nearly half of 80,000 small businesses surveyed say they won’t survive the current economic climate, ongoing inflation or another four years of Biden administration policies, according to the survey conducted by RedBalloon and Public Square.

Their May Freedom Economy Index found that small businesses “remain in survival mode,” with 40% delaying paying bills to manage cash flow and 70 percent putting staffing plans on hold, neither hiring nor reducing staff, “the highest reading … over the past year,” the report states."

We are in far more trouble than most people realize. I have been documenting the ups and downs of our inevitable economic decline for more than a decade, and now we have reached a stage where that decline is threatening to become an avalanche. So I would encourage you to brace yourself for very hard times, because it has become clear that this is a story that is not going to end well."

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Canadian Prepper, "WW3 Alert! Russian Nukes Moving West; China Ends All Nuclear Talks!

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 7/18/24
"WW3 Alert! Russian Nukes Moving West; China Ends
 All Nuclear Talks! Israel/Trump PlanningHoly War!"
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"Audio Analysis Is 100% Clear: Trump & Crowd Were Shot At By Two Separate People"

Full screen recommended.
Dr. Chris Martenson, 7/18/24
"Audio Analysis Is 100% Clear: 
Trump & Crowd Were Shot At By Two Separate People"
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
CBS Pittsburgh, 7/18/24
"Officers Were On 2nd Floor of Building With 
Windows Facing Roof Used by Trump Rally Shooter"
Comments here:

Note the sound analysis above as to angle 
of fire and location of second shooter.
That could only be... who?
o
Highly relevant...

Jeremiah Babe, "Costco Is Selling Lots Of Apocalypse Buckets (Emergency Food)"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/18/24
"Costco Is Selling Lots Of Apocalypse Buckets (Emergency Food);
Job Losses And Big Challenges Ahead"
Comments here:

"Social Insanity Is Starting To Appear All Over America, And You Are Not Ready For What's Coming"

Full screen recommended.
Epic Economist, 7/18/24
"Social Insanity Is Starting To Appear All Over America, 
And You Are Not Ready For What's Coming"

"Do you still doubt that chaos is about to erupt in every corner of the United States in the coming months? The latest events are proof that social tensions are escalating alarmingly fast all over the country. Our population is becoming increasingly more divided – something that will likely get worse when people start heading to the ballots in November. Extremist attacks are a real threat we should all be very concerned about.

During such uncertain times, widespread civil unrest can emerge unexpectedly. We have witnessed it happening before. Still, it is hard to predict when riots and mobs will take over our streets. In fact, when you watch documentaries or interviews from people who’ve been through a major civil conflict, a lot of them say they didn’t see it coming. The truth is that we've been conditioned to ignore the signs. Most people don't even know what to look for or when to start thinking about leaving and looking for a safe place to hide.

That's because we are constantly being exposed to manipulated media messages that divert our attention from the real problems around us. To the point that it desensitizes the public from seeing the imminent risks of social upheaval coming straight at us!

Civil disorder takes many forms. Whether it’s in its beginning stages or has turned into running battles between authorities and groups of protestors, one thing holds true: You don’t want to find yourself in the middle of it."
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Musical Interlude: Ludovico Einaudi, "Una Mattina"

Full screen recommended.
Ludovico Einaudi, "Una Mattina"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“The Flame Nebula is a stand out in optical images of the dusty, crowded star forming regions toward Orion's belt and the easternmost belt star Alnitak, a mere 1,400 light-years away. Alnitak is the bright star at the right edge of this infrared image from the Spitzer Space Telescope. About 15 light-years across, the infrared view takes you inside the nebula's glowing gas and obscuring dust clouds though. It reveals many stars of the recently formed, embedded cluster NGC 2024 concentrated near the center. 
The stars of NGC 2024 range in age from 200,000 years to 1.5 million years young. In fact, data indicate that the youngest stars are concentrated near the middle of the Flame Nebula cluster. That's the opposite of the simplest models of star formation for a stellar nursery that predict star formation begins in the denser center of a molecular cloud core. The result requires a more complex model for star formation inside the Flame Nebula.”

"Life is A Journey - Don't Be Afraid"

"Life is A Journey - Don't Be Afraid"
Author Unknown

"Life is a journey filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments that will ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth; in fact, throughout our travels, we will encounter many challenges. Some of these challenges will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that will come between the paths that we are destined to take. In order to follow the right path, we must overcome these obstacles. Sometimes these obstacles are really blessings in disguise, only we don't realize that at the time.

Along our journey we will be confronted with many situations, some will be filled with joy, and some will be filled with heartache. How we react to what we are faced will determine what kind of outcome the rest of our journey through life will be like. When things don't always go our way, we have two choices in dealing with the situations. We can focus on the fact that things didn't go how we had hoped they would and let life pass us by, or two, we can make the best out of the situation and know that these are only temporary setbacks and find the lessons that are to be learned.

Time stops for no one, and if we allow ourselves to focus on the negative we might miss out on some really amazing things that life has to offer. We can't go back to the past, we can only take the lessons that we have learned and the experiences that we have gained from it and move on. It is because of the heartaches, as well as the hardships, that in the end help to make us a stronger person.

The people that we meet on our journey, are people that we are destined to meet. Everybody comes into our lives for some reason or another and we don't always know their purpose until it is too late. They all play some kind of role. Some may stay for a lifetime; others may only stay for a short while. It is often the people who stay for only a short time that end up making a lasting impression not only in our lives, but in our hearts as well. Although we may not realize it at the time, they will make a difference and change our lives in a way we never could imagine. To think that one person can have such a profound effect on your life forever is truly a blessing. It is because of these encounters that we learn some of life's best lessons and sometimes we even learn a little bit about ourselves.

People will come and go into our lives quickly, but sometimes we are lucky to meet that one special person that will stay in our hearts forever no matter what. Even though we may not always end up being with that person and they may not always stay in our life for as long as we like, the lessons that we have learned from them and the experiences that we have gained from meeting that person, will stay with us forever.

It's these things that will give us strength to continue with our journey. We know that we can always look back on those times of our past and know that because of that one individual, we are who we are and we can remember the wonderful moments that we have shared with that person. Memories are priceless treasures that we can cherish forever in our hearts. They also enable us to go on with our journey for whatever life has in store for us. Sometimes all it takes is one special person to help us look inside ourselves and find a whole different person that we never knew existed. Our eyes are suddenly opened to a world we never knew existed- a world where time is so precious and moments never seem to last long enough.

Throughout this adventure, people will give you advice and insights on how to live your life but when it all comes down to it, you must always do what you feel is right. Always follow your heart, and most importantly never have any regrets. Don't hold anything back. Say what you want to say, and do what you want to do, because sometimes we don't get a second chance to say or do what we should have the first time around.

It is often said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. It all depends on how one defines the word "strong". It can have different meanings to different people. In this sense, "stronger" means looking back at the person you were and comparing it to the person you have become today. It also means looking deep into your soul and realizing that the person you are today couldn't exist if it weren't for the things that have happened in the past or for the people that you have met. Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason and sometimes that means we must face heartaches in order to experience joy."
- Author Unknown, found here:

Paulo Coelho, "Be Like a River"

"Be Like a River"
by Paulo Coelho

“A river never passes the same place twice,” says a philosopher. “Life is like a river,” says another philosopher, and we draw the conclusion that this is the metaphor that comes closest to the meaning of life. Consequently, it is always good to remember during all the year to come:

• We are always doing things for the first time. While we move between our source (birth) to our destination (death), the landscape will always be new. We should face these novelties with joy, not with fear – because it is useless to fear what cannot be avoided. A river never stops running.

 In a valley we walk slower. When everything around us becomes easier, the waters grow calm, we become more open, fuller and more generous.

 Our banks are always fertile. Vegetation only grows where there is water. Whoever comes into contact with us needs to understand that we are there to give the thirsty something to drink.

 Stones should be avoided. It is obvious that water is stronger than granite, but it takes time for this to happen. It is no good letting yourself be overcome by stronger obstacles, or trying to fight against them – that is a useless waste of energy. It is best to understand where the way out is, and then move forward.

 Hollows call for patience. All of a sudden the river enters a sort of hole and stops running as joyfully as before. At such moments the only way out is to count on the help of time. When the right moment comes the hollow fills up and the water can flow ahead. In the place of the ugly, lifeless hole there now stands a lake that others can contemplate with joy.

 We are one. We were born in a place that was meant for us, which will always keep us supplied with enough water so that when confronted with obstacles or depression we have the necessary patience or strength to move forward. We begin our course in a soft and fragile manner, where even a simple leaf can stop us. Nevertheless, as we respect the mystery of the source that gave us life, and trust in eternal wisdom, little by little we gain all that we need to pursue our path.

 Although we are one, soon we shall be many. As we travel on, the waters of other springs come closer, because that is the best path to follow. Then we are no longer just one, but many – and there comes a moment when we feel lost. However, “all rivers flow to the sea.” It is impossible to remain in our solitude, no matter how romantic that may seem. When we accept the inevitable encounter with other springs, we eventually understand that this makes us much stronger, we get around obstacles or fill in the hollows in far less time and with greater ease.

• We are a means of transportation. Of leaves, boats, ideas. May our waters always be generous, may be always be able to carry ahead everything or everyone that needs our help.

• We are a source of inspiration. And so, let us leave the final words to the Brazilian poet, Manuel Bandeira:
“To be like a river that flows
silent through the night,
not fearing the darkness and
reflecting any stars high in the sky.

And if the sky is filled with clouds,
the clouds are water like the river, so
without remorse reflect them too.”

http://paulocoelhoblog.com/

Free Download: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Letters and Papers From Prison”

“The fact that the foolish person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the foolish person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings. “
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Letters and Papers From Prison”

Freely download "Letters and Papers From Prison, Prologue" 

Dan, I Allegedly, "The Auto Industry is in Shambles"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 7/18/24
"The Auto Industry is in Shambles"
From Repos to slow sales. 
The entire auto industry is in trouble.
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The Daily "Near You?"

Machias, Maine, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"The Free and the Brave"

"The Free and the Brave"
by Todd Hayen

"Whatever happened to that (the free and the brave)? Whatever happened to the attitude that had Patrick Henry at the Virginia convention in 1775 say “give me liberty, or give me death”?

Whatever happened to the patriotic fervour and the uncanny commitment to face suffering and death that resulted in over two million young men volunteering for service in World War I, and five times that number volunteering to serve in World War II?

Whatever happened to the ability to conquer fear and ride on the excitement for adventure and potential for immeasurable success that drove hundreds of thousands of men and women into the wild, and dangerous, frontiers of the American West?

Whatever happened to the spirit that filled the souls of those that faced stark adversity, danger to life and limb, that lead over 50,000 hapless men and women (mostly men) into the jungles of Central America to build the Panama Canal? - ultimately killing over 5,000 of them as a result of accidents, all manner of diseases including malaria and dysentery?

What happened?

Yeah, this is about us, guys (me included!) Sure, women can be brave - any biological sexual orientation can activate the warrior archetype - but more commonly it is the gendered male that falls into this archetypal constellation. Bravery - a compulsion to protect those he loves, have a critical and logical assessment of a difficult situation, and the force and power, at the very least a potential force and power, ready to inflict whatever necessary to protect partner and family, community and nation. We, us men, have seemed to have lost much of that. Have we become a bunch of puss-balls?

Dr Mark McDonald, a prominent medical doctor with a speciality in psychiatry, doesn’t mince words when he says while describing the psychological state of men and women during this crises: "We essentially have men with no balls, and then we have histrionics, women who have no emotional containment, because there are no men to contain them anymore.”

Sexist? Maybe some will think so, but McDonald is not putting all the blame on one sex, or exclusively on the masculine or feminine archetypes, the responsibility here is rather well balanced.

What does this mean? Very basically it means we have created a culture that has done a pretty good job of emasculating men - the radical feminist movement, as well as a general lack of situations where men can express their “man-ness” in a healthy way, has been a big part of the problem.

“Toxic Masculinity” is a phrase and concept that has taken the world by storm, and contributes quite a bit to the confusion that men are experiencing while trying to ascertain what a “real man” is in today’s “anti male” culture. “Oh boo hoo” some of you may be saying. “Men, through their powerful patriarchal history of abusing women and treating them as inferior partners in relationships deserve a little pull back!” There certainly is truth to that, but two wrongs don’t make a right. You can’t carve out an essential part of being a “man” without some collateral damage, all the way around.

So what does being a “real man” have to do with bravery? A lot, actually. Facing adversity and danger, primarily in order to protect the physically weaker, is a very important attribute of the masculine archetype of warrior, or even king if you want to get more detailed about it. Historically and traditionally the man has been the protector, the physical, and sometimes intellectual (intelligence that is present in logic reasoning and critical thinking) found in masculine archetypes (again, archetypes both men and women have access to).

These attributes are primarily directed toward protection and outwardly projected as strength and resolve. This often stabilizes the more emotional feminine archetypal factors that again, typically, are activated by the female, or woman, in a relationship.

As a psychotherapist, and an archetypal psychologist at that, I see these archetypal powers and influences playing out in my clients every day. Most of the problems I find in a couple’s therapy stems from an imbalance, or a dysfunction, in these energies of masculine and feminine. Again, the “man” in a couple can be activating both masculine and feminine archetypes, as well as the “woman.” The problem comes in if the archetypes activated are inappropriate, out of balance, and create a result that is unexpected, undesired, or not beneficial. Most of these influences run in the unconscious, so very seldom are they consciously manipulated.

It wasn’t until I met Dr McDonald that I connected some very important dots. McDonald recently wrote and released a book titled "United States of Fear." The subtitle of the book, “How America Fell Victim to a Mass Delusional Psychosis” is the primary focus.

McDonald holds nothing back when he addresses what he believes to be a fundamental cause of this mass psychosis. He believes that women (feminine archetypes driving the woman’s behaviour) need a strong, and masculine man, to contain her emotionality (due to the unfettered expression of her feminine archetypes.) McDonald, in an interview given on Jerm Warfare, said:

"Do you think men with masks on make women feel safe? It only shows they have no balls. I’ve spoken with female police officers who see men in camouflage, tattooed, driving around in trucks with gun racks - wearing masks. They tell me, ‘this does not make me feel safe. This makes me afraid. If they are this scared of a virus, how will they react to a real threat - what’s going to happen when the bear comes out of the woods? What’s going to happen when a rapist tries to attack me? What’s going to happen when my children are going to be kidnapped by the man in the park, what are they going to do? With their mask on are they going to say, “Please stop. Please. Please.” They’re not going to put their lives on the line. They won’t even put their mouth on the line.’”

Harsh words, my brothers. Harsh words, but I think quite on the money. Is this the only thing that is driving the collapse we are seeing in those that cannot stand up to this current tyranny, and say “enough is enough, step back!” No, of course not, but, in my opinion, it is a large part of the problem.

Our culture, at least in the West, has been set up for this to happen. We have become more and more dependent on government taking care of us, thus losing our own personal drive to develop character and strength. We depend on government and authority to think for us, and tell us what is best for us, to, in a word, parent us. We comply, we stay children, and we ultimately suffer.

The brave hold onto what makes them free and are willing to fight for it. Freedom is a God given right, not one bestowed upon us by any other authority. The healthy masculine archetypes of warrior and king have at their side the symbolic sword representing their power over adversity and danger.

There is a time for the warrior to pull the sword from its scabbard just a few inches to allow the sun to glint off of its polished surface, flashing in the eyes of a potential enemy, letting them know who they are dealing with. And then there is the time to pull the sword completely free from its confines and slash what is seriously threatening the warrior and those he loves. Now is the time to fight."
“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

"As Far As We Can Discern..."

"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence
is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being."
- C. G. Jung

“I Know How to Live… I Don’t Know How to Die”

“I Know How to Live… I Don’t Know How to Die”
by Bill Bonner

“I’ve never done this before…” The woman on the bed was almost a skeleton. The flesh had already gone from her. What was left was an 86-year-old empty tube – shriveled, bent, used up. “I know how to live,” she said. “I don’t know how to die. I don’t know what I’m supposed to think or what I’m supposed to do.”

“Don’t worry about it,” we advised. “It’ll come naturally. Do you need anything?” “Need anything? I need nothing at all. Absolutely nothing. I’m dying. And I have everything I need to do it.” “How about some more pain medication?” “No. I don’t want any. I am only going to do this once. I don’t want to get doped up. I don’t want to miss anything.”

Heaven with Tobacco Fields: People who are dying have a status somewhere between Nobel Prize winners and mobsters. We are reluctant to contradict them. We remember a scene from childhood: We had gone to visit a dying uncle, Edward. Like all our relatives, he was a tobacco farmer. But now the plant he had cared for all his life was killing him: he had lung cancer. Other relatives had gathered at the house to say goodbye. The mood was gloomy, dark… quiet. But the conversation, in early spring, ran in a familiar direction – toward the weather and soil conditions. “They won’t be planting tobacco where I’m going,” said Uncle Edward.

The group fell silent. Some looked down at the floor. Some shuffled toward the kitchen. But Agnes, a cousin, challenged him. “How do you know where you’re going or what they’re doing there?” This enlivened and emboldened the confrérie of tobacco growers. “Yeah, for all we know they’re pulling the plants already,” said one, glancing out the window to see if the rain had stopped. (The plants were “pulled” from the nursery beds for transplanting in the fields. We particularly disliked pulling them because black snakes enjoyed the warm of the gauze-like covering and slithered among the plants.)

The 12-year-old in the group – your editor – forever admired his cousin Agnes. She could see the truth and had the courage to speak it. None of us knew what happened after death. Why not tobacco farming? We tried to imagine Heaven with tobacco fields. It was so implausible that we had a hard time with it. But we persisted. Rows of the green plants, tended by generations of deceased farmers. The sun must not be so hot in Heaven, we concluded, for there was nothing heavenly about the scorching summer sun when you were cutting tobacco. The ghost farmers must hoe each row… and “top” the plants to remove the flower and force the growth to the leaves, just as we did in the Maryland fields. At the end of the day, sweat-stained and tired, they must gather around their pickup trucks – one foot up on the running board, an elbow on the raised knee, with a cigarette in the right hand.

An Unexplored Mystery: The other professions must have their quarters, too… Wheat farmers need broader fields. Cobblers could enjoy their trade, too. Why not? Heaven – immeasurably large – could have a place for everybody. Even bankers and lawyers might find a spot. For a moment, we imagined what it must be like, with mechanics tightening their bolts and dairymen milking their cows. But if everybody did in Heaven what he did on Earth, what was the point of it? The juvenile mind, like its adult successor, stalled.

Half a century later, it is still stopped where it was left – like a tractor abandoned on the edge of a field, with trees grown up between the wheels. Rust has covered the hood. The tires, cracked from the sun, have flattened and disintegrated. It has moved not an inch forward… leaving the mystery of Heaven completely unexplored. “Well, you’re not dead yet,” we replied. “How about a little apple juice?”

The death rattle began two days later. The goodbyes have all been said. Prayers have been offered. Undertakers contacted. A church put on alert. Remembrances shared. Toward the end there was no one there to share the remembrances with. The spirit seemed to have packed up and moved out before the body got the message. Life, like bull markets and credit expansions, always come to an end, sooner or later. New technology and newfangled monetary policies offer delays, unfounded hope, and stays of execution – but never a full pardon.”
Bread, "Everything I Own"

"If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call 
you could make, who would you call and what would you say? 
And why are you waiting?"
- Stephen Levine

"Shantaram"

“But I couldn't respond. My culture had taught me all the wrong things well. So I lay completely still, and gave no reaction at all. But the soul has no culture. The soul has no nations. The soul has no color or accent or way of life. The soul is forever. The soul is one. And when the heart has its moment of truth and sorrow, the soul can't be stilled. I clenched my teeth against the stars. I closed my eyes. I surrendered to sleep. One of the reasons why we crave love, and seek it so desperately, is that love is the only cure for loneliness, and shame, and sorrow. But some feelings sink so deep into the heart that only loneliness can help you find them again. Some truths about yourself are so painful that only shame can help you live with them. And some things are just so sad that only your soul can do the crying for you.”
- Gregory David Roberts, "Shantaram"
"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope.
Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.
In the end that’s all we have – to hold on tight until dawn.”

“For this is what we do. Put one foot forward and then the other. Lift our eyes to the snarl and smile of the world once more. Think. Act. Feel. Add our little consequence to the tides of good and evil that flood and drain the world. Drag our shadowed crosses into the hope of another night. Push our brave hearts into the promise of a new day. With love: the passionate search for truth other than our own. With longing: the pure, ineffable yearning to be saved. For so long as fate keeps waiting, we live on. God help us. God forgive us. We live on.”
- Gregory David Roberts, “Shantaram”
o
“Shantaram”
by Gregory David Roberts

“Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in “Shantaram,” a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means “man of God’s peace,” which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies performed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that’s only the beginning.

He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident “doctor.” With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla’s connections are murky from the outset.

Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some of his prose is downright embarrassing. Throughout the novel, however, all 944 pages of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy with a tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but a basically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldier of fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for the prequel and the sequel.”
– Valerie Ryan

Freely read “Shantaram” online, by Gregory David Roberts, here:
There is a download option for registered users.

"You Can Never Tell..."

"You can never tell what people have inside them
until you start taking it away, one hope at a time."
- Gregory David Roberts

“Fish Are the Last to Notice the Water”

“Fish Are the Last to Notice the Water”
by Paul Rosenberg

“I ran into this phrase in a physics lecture, of all places, and knew it would be the title of my next article. And this is generally a true statement. Those who are immersed in something… who have always been immersed in it… are the last to see what it really is.

By now it should be obvious to the people of the West that they’re being held in a primitive bondage. And fortunately, more eyes are opening to this than ever before. But still, most people are so used to this particular “water” and have so long acclimated themselves to it, that they haven’t recognized it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with most of these people; they just haven’t stepped back far enough to see the obvious. So, let’s do that.

The Long View: A single model of human life has dominated the West for thousands of years. I can summarize by saying that this rulership model began to form in about 5400 BC, dominated Mesopotamia by about 4000 BC, took hold in Egypt by 3000 BC, and spread over the rest of the world from there. So, it has dominated for some 5,000 or 6,000 years, depending on which dates you prefer. This model is so common that it’s hard to make out at first. Here are its parts:

• A small minority of men hold a monopoly on making rules everyone else will live by.

• This minority enforces these rules on everyone else.

• The minority extracts regular payments from everyone else. This is said to be necessary for protection and justice.

• The minority fails to provide justice on a daily basis and very often sends the children of the majority to fight in battles to the death.

• A minority-aligned intellectual class assures the majority that this is the best that can be had and that it has been sanctified by some higher power (gods, ancestors, tradition, reason, experience, progress, or whatever).

• No one is permitted to escape this model. Those who try are punished as traitors and heretics.

This is the primary model of human organization and has been for some 5,000 years. And aside from arguing over details (or fury over the audacity to say it), there is no real challenge to this statement. Moreover, this model has been an abject failure – a demonstrable failure:

• Wars have continued throughout its entire reign.

• Justice has never been achieved and generally came closest in places away from power centers.

• Human happiness has not noticeably increased.

• Even when science has broken out, it has been recaptured and forced to serve the model. (The internet, for example.)

On top of that, this model has to be maintained by force. As noted above, straying from it is harshly punished. If this system was truly superior, force wouldn’t be required. After all, we don’t have to force people to buy houses or cars. So, by any number of measurable standards, this model fails, and very, very badly. The best defense one might make for it is that something else could be worse. But since we’re not permitted to test that assertion, the word bondage is perfectly fitting.

At a bare minimum, we can say this: Any system with no major upgrade in 5,000 years must be considered hopelessly obsolete, moribund, and degenerate. This is where we stand today. And it is crucial that we help our fellows see it.

How Do We Do Make Them See? First off, we cannot make people see. And truthfully, they generally see it quite well on their own. What they lack is inner strength to acknowledge what they see. It is not intellectual strength that most people lack; it is emotional strength. And so, you’ll have to be slow and gentle if you want success. Rigorous intellectual arguments are not enough, and in many cases they’re counterproductive.

In the end, the way to help your friends and neighbors is downright biblical: Plant seeds, wait for them to germinate, water them. Show kindness, love them, shine light on their path. It doesn’t matter if this sounds hokey to you or if you’d rather engage in brilliant arguments. This is what works. So, decide what you really want: for your friends and neighbors to see, or for you to “win.” The fish need faith to imagine a dry shore, and they’re not going to get it from intellectual badgering.”

"How It Really Will Be..."

 

"We Are Never Deceived..."

"We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves."
- Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"Man's Nature..."

"Man has one name, and many more than two natures. 
But the essential two are these:
that he shall strive to impose order on chaos, 
and that he shall strive to take advantage of chaos…
A third element of man's nature is this: 
that he shall not understand what he is doing."
- John Brunner

Bill Bonner, "At the End of Empire"

"At the End of Empire"
The dots act within the patterns of history. They do not know
 where it is headed or choose its direction. But they help it get where it is going.
by Bill Bonner

"Ask Bill who he thinks was behind the assassination attempt on DJT?  Does he think a 20-year-old kid just woke up and decided to kill a former President that day? Let me grab my ladder and Dad's rifle and shoot the former, and likely, new President of the USA? The story is so preposterous..." - A Dear Reader

Poitou, France - "On the surface, the story does seem preposterous. The US has seventeen different secret service-type agencies. On or near the scene in Butler, PA were dozens... hundreds... thousands... of people on the payroll charged with protecting the government and its operatives (including aspiring Commanders-in-Chief). Local cops. State cops. FBI. Homeland Security. ATF agents. Army. Marines. The list goes on and on.

All were armed with the latest robo-cop gear... the latest intel, coming from snoops and spooks all over the country... and the latest crime-busting tactics. How could they fail to stop a callow amateur, shooting from an obvious vantage at the man who must be the most obvious target in the whole world? How could a kid with an aluminum ladder foil a billion dollars’ worth of trained, professional security?

It is so preposterous... it must be true, right? The premise - laid out by the former Chinese ambassador to the US - is that America has changed dramatically from the country we grew up in. What caused the change? Where does it lead? And the botched ‘assassination attempt’ on Donald Trump? How does that fit in?

November 22, 1963: We were fifteen years old when JFK was murdered. That assassin didn’t miss. We recall how the nation mourned... and how everyone remembered where he was when Kennedy’s death was reported. No one joked about it. And no one forgot it.

Mrs. Kennedy, still wearing the blood-stained suit she had worn in Dallas, had stayed with the body until it was brought into the White House. There it lay, for twenty-four hours, guarded by Green Berets. The next day, the casket was laid onto a horse-drawn caisson. Three hundred thousand people lined Pennsylvania Avenue and a whole teary world watched on television as the procession slowly marched to the Capitol. The crowd fell silent as the caisson went by... followed by a riderless horse, Black Jack. The only sounds were muffled drums and the clank of horses’ steel shoes on the pavement.

In the rotunda of the US Capitol, Jackie Kennedy took her two children in hand to kneel beside the coffin. She had asked for a closed casket; her husband’s head had been shattered. Outside, another quarter of a million people lined up in near freezing temperatures... the line was said to stretch for forty blocks... to say farewell.

One of the last mourners, at 2:30am was former heavyweight boxing champion, Jersey Joe Walcott, who said simply: ‘He was a great man.’ And then, there was the doubt... who really did it, and why? Did the dots know the pattern of which they were a part?

Kennedy had announced his clear intention to pull away from war. Dan Denning comments: "The Kennedy ‘Peace Speech’ was on June 10, 1963. At 11:45 [minutes into the speech] he makes the point you did about no nation suffering more than the Soviets in World War Two. At 19:44 he talks about the ongoing negotiations in Geneva for a 'general and complete disarmament.'

Kennedy had already noted that the CIA was out of control and vowed to break it ‘into a thousand pieces.’ Later, at American University he clearly aimed to follow through on Eisenhower’s warning and prevent the firepower industry from getting control of America’s government.

Did the secret service/CIA/military, industrial complex strike first…conspiring to kill Kennedy? Did they organize it with the Cuban mafia... or did they merely forget to report the threat from Lee Harvey Oswald, whom they had been following for years? Or, did they have no conscious involvement, none at all... maybe it was just one of those coincidences that make history – getting rid of the one the man who might have stopped America’s degeneration into a warfare state?

Was not Lenin shipped to Moscow on a special train provided by the Germans? Was not the young Stalin sent to Siberia... and allowed to escape? Did not Abraham Lincoln go to the theater, even though he might have preferred a quiet evening at home?

The dots act within the patterns of history. They do not know where it is headed or choose its direction. But they help it get where it is going.

In the mainstream media, Trump’s star has risen. He has achieved a kind of folk hero status. He survived a bullet. He survived ridicule and derision. He survived salacious reports about p#$$y grabbing and paying off a porn star to keep quiet. He survived grand juries, as well as state and federal prosecutions. He survived four bankruptcies and three marriages.

Now, he is even more likely than ever to be our next president. By contrast, Joe Biden’s election prospects are dim. Poor Joe’s brain seems to be clouding over day by day... while Trump’s brain, such as it is, is sharp and clear.

Outside of the mainstream, meanwhile, opinions are more nuanced. Some analysts see the US drifting into such lawlessness and violence that a 20-year-old kid shoots a former US president. Others wonder whether the Secret Service really wanted to keep Trump alive. Still more daring is the thought that maybe the powers-that-be set him up. ‘We can’t trust the politicized FBI to handle the probe of the Trump assassination bid,’ writes Jim Bovard in the New York Post. Then, who can we trust? Where are our ‘great men’ today? Tune in tomorrow."
o
Full screen recommended.
"JFK", "A Meeting with X"

Full screen recommended.
"JFK", "Coup d'État"

And the Secret Service?
Full screen recommended.
"JFK Motorcade and Odd Secret Service Behavior"

Adventures With Danno, "Grocery Items That Are Worth Buying At Kroger This Week!"

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, AM 7/18/24
"Grocery Items That Are Worth 
Buying At Kroger This Week!"
Comments here:

Gregory Mannarino, "What Is About To Happen Is Going To Blow Your Mind On An Epic Scale"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/18/24
"What Is About To Happen Is Going 
To Blow Your Mind On An Epic Scale"
Comments here:
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Gregory Mannarino, PM 7/18/24
"The Death Of The Dollar Is Coming From Within, 
And It's About To Get Much Worse"
Comments here:

"Scott Ritter on JD Vance, Donald Trump and the Assassination Attempt"

Dialogue Works, 7/18/24
"Scott Ritter on JD Vance, 
Donald Trump and the Assassination Attempt"
Comments here:
o
Related:
o
"Evidence continues to mount that Saturday's attempted assassination of Donald Trump by shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was allowed to happen, despite ample warning from bystanders, local PD, and even the shooter's parents."
o
o
Full screen recommended.
"That Cow does a Better Job than Cheatle"
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