Sunday, October 27, 2024

"‘Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’ The Story of Oppenheimer’s Infamous Quote"

"‘Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.’ 
The Story of Oppenheimer’s Infamous Quote"
by James Temperton

"As he witnessed the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, a piece of Hindu scripture ran through the mind of J. Robert Oppenheimer: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” It is, perhaps, the most well-known line from the Bhagavad Gita, but also the most misunderstood.

Oppenheimer, the subject of a film from director Christopher Nolan, died at the age of 62 in Princeton, New Jersey, on February 18, 1967. As wartime head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the birthplace of the Manhattan Project, he is rightly seen as the “father” of the atomic bomb. “We knew the world would not be the same,” he later recalled. “A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent.”

Oppenheimer, watching the fireball of the Trinity nuclear test, turned to Hinduism. While he never became a Hindu in the devotional sense, Oppenheimer found it a useful philosophy to structure his life around. “He was obviously very attracted to this philosophy,” says Stephen Thompson, who has spent more than 30 years studying and teaching Sanskrit. Oppenheimer’s interest in Hinduism was about more than a sound bite, Thompson argues. It was a way of making sense of his actions.

The Bhagavad Gita is 700-verse Hindu scripture, written in Sanskrit, that centers on a dialog between a great warrior prince named Arjuna and his charioteer Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. Facing an opposing army containing his friends and relatives, Arjuna is torn. But Krishna teaches him about a higher philosophy that will enable him to carry out his duties as a warrior irrespective of his personal concerns. This is known as the dharma, or holy duty. It is one of the four key lessons of the Bhagavad Gita, on desire or lust; wealth; the desire for righteousness, or dharma; and the final state of total liberation, moksha.

Seeking his counsel, Arjuna asks Krishna to reveal his universal form. Krishna obliges, and in verse 12 of the Gita he manifests as a sublime, terrifying being of many mouths and eyes. It is this moment that entered Oppenheimer’s mind in July 1945. “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one,” was Oppenheimer’s translation of that moment in the desert of New Mexico.

In Hinduism, which has a non-linear concept of time, the great god is involved in not only the creation, but also the dissolution. In verse 32, Krishna says the famous line. In it “death” literally translates as “world-destroying time,” says Thompson, adding that Oppenheimer’s Sanskrit teacher chose to translate “world-destroying time” as “death,” a common interpretation. Its meaning is simple: Irrespective of what Arjuna does, everything is in the hands of the divine.

“Arjuna is a soldier, he has a duty to fight. Krishna, not Arjuna, will determine who lives and who dies and Arjuna should neither mourn nor rejoice over what fate has in store, but should be sublimely unattached to such results,” says Thompson. “And ultimately the most important thing is he should be devoted to Krishna. His faith will save Arjuna’s soul." But Oppenheimer, seemingly, was never able to achieve this peace. “In some sort of crude sense which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatements can quite extinguish,” he said, two years after the Trinity explosion, “the physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.”

“He doesn’t seem to believe that the soul is eternal, whereas Arjuna does,” says Thompson. “The fourth argument in the Gita is really that death is an illusion, that we’re not born and we don’t die. That’s the philosophy, really. That there’s only one consciousness and that the whole of creation is a wonderful play.” Oppenheimer, perhaps, never believed that the people killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not suffer. While he carried out his work dutifully, he could never accept that this could liberate him from the cycle of life and death. In stark contrast, Arjuna realizes his error and decides to join the battle.

“Krishna is saying you have to simply do your duty as a warrior,” says Thompson. “If you were a priest you wouldn’t have to do this, but you are a warrior and you have to perform it. In the larger scheme of things, presumably, the bomb represented the path of the battle against the forces of evil, which were epitomized by the forces of fascism.”

For Arjuna, it may have been comparatively easy to be indifferent to war because he believed the souls of his opponents would live on regardless. But Oppenheimer felt the consequences of the atomic bomb acutely. “He hadn’t got that confidence that the destruction, ultimately, was an illusion,” says Thompson. Oppenheimer’s apparent inability to accept the idea of an immortal soul would always weigh heavy on his mind."

Freely download The Bhagavad Gita here:

"Archaeologists Discovered A Lost Civilization In The Desert That Vaporized And Turned To Glass"

Full screen recommended.
LifesBiggestQuestions, 10/26/24
"Archaeologists Discovered A Lost Civilization 
In The Desert That Vaporized And Turned To Glass"

The ancient city of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan hides a chilling secret. Could its destruction be the result of a sudden catastrophe rather than a gradual decline? Evidence like vitrified structures and scattered skeletal remains suggests a powerful force swept through this Indus Valley metropolis. Was Mohenjo-daro vaporized by an ancient weapon, leaving behind melted ruins and enigmatic "glass beads"? Explore the unsettling possibilities and uncover the archaeological clues that may reveal the truth behind this ancient city's destruction.
Comments here:

The Daily "Near You?"

Perryville, Arkansas, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Complexity Theory: The Avalanche and the Snowflake"

"Complexity Theory: 
The Avalanche and the Snowflake"
by James Rickards

"One of my favorites is what I call ‘the avalanche and the snowflake’. It’s a metaphor for the way the science actually works, but I should be clear: it’s not just a metaphor. The science, the mathematics and the dynamics are actually the same as those that exist in financial markets.

Imagine you’re on a mountainside. You can see a snowpack building up on the ridgeline while it continues snowing. You can tell just by looking at the scene that there’s danger of an avalanche. It’s windswept… it’s unstable… and if you’re an expert, you know it’s going to collapse and kill skiers and wipe out the village below. You see a snowflake fall from the sky onto the snowpack. It disturbs a few other snowflakes that lie there. Then, the snow starts to spread… then it starts to slide… then it gains momentum until, finally, it comes loose and the whole mountain comes down and buries the village.

Question: What do you blame? Do you blame the snowflake, or do you blame the unstable pack of snow? I say the snowflake’s irrelevant. If it wasn’t the one snowflake that caused the avalanche, it could have been the one before, or the one after, or the one tomorrow. The instability of the system as a whole was the problem. So when I think about the risks in the financial system, I don’t focus on the ‘snowflake’ that will cause problems. The trigger doesn’t matter.

A snowflake that falls harmlessly – the vast majority of all snowflakes - technically fails to start a chain reaction. Once a chain reaction begins, it expands exponentially, can ‘go critical’ (as in an atomic bomb) and release enough energy to destroy a city. However, most neutrons do not start nuclear chain reactions, just as most snowflakes do not start avalanches.

In the end, it’s not about the snowflakes or neutrons. It’s about the initial critical state conditions that allow the possibiity of a chain reaction or an avalanche. These can be hypothesized and observed at large scale, but the exact moment the chain reaction begins cannot be observed. That’s because it happens on a minute scale relative to the system. This is why some people refer to these snowflakes as ‘black swans’, because they are unexpected and come by surprise. But they’re actually not a surprise if you understand the system’s dynamics and can estimate the system scale.

It’s a metaphor, but really the mathematics behind it are the same. Financial markets today are huge, unstable mountains of snow waiting to collapse. You see it in the gross notional value of derivatives. There is $700 trillion worth of swaps. ($2.5 Quadrillion by other reputable estimates. - CP) These are derivatives off balance sheet, hidden liabilities in the banking system of the world. These numbers are not made up. Just go to the IS annual report and it’s right there in the footnote.

Well, how do you put $700 trillion into perspective? It’s ten times global GDP. Take all the goods and services in the entire world for an entire year. That’s about $88 trillion when you add it all up. Well, take ten times that, and that’s how big the snow pile is. And that’s the avalanche that’s waiting to come down."
o
"$2.5 Quadrillion Disaster Waiting to Happen – 
Egon von Greyerz"
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"There is sufficiency in the world 
for Man's need but not for his greed." 
Mahatma Gandhi

"Egon von Greyerz (EvG) stores gold for clients at the biggest private gold vault in the world buried deep in the Swiss Alps. EvG is a financial and precious metals expert. EvG is a former Swiss banker and an expert in risk. He says the risk in the global markets has never been this high.

EvG explains, “Credit has increased dramatically through derivatives. All instruments being issued now by banks, pension funds, stock funds, it’s all synthetic. There is no real underlying payments in anything almost. Therefore, my estimate for derivatives would be at least $2 quadrillion, and I think that is probably conservative. Then, we have debt on top of that of $300 trillion, and we also have a couple hundred trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities. So, we are talking about $2.5 QUADRILLION, and that’s with a global GDP of $88 trillion. So, there is a disaster waiting to happen, and especially because all this created money has created no value whatsoever. I always knew this would collapse, and it’s taken longer than I expected, but I think we are at the end of a major era. 

These derivatives, at some point soon, will actually turn into debt. Central banks will have to cover all the outstanding liabilities of the commercial banks as we are seeing now with Credit Suisse, Bank of England and etc. This is going to happen across the board. Whether it’s called derivatives or called debt, as far as I am concerned, it’s the same thing. It will have the same effect on the world financial system, which will be disastrous, of course.”

EvG says the derivative markets were simply a way for financial institutions to carry debt and not show it on their balance sheets. In the end, everything will balance out. EvG goes on to say, “Nobody can repay the debt, and they can’t even pay interest. So, therefore, when the debt implodes, so will the assets that were financed by this debt. So, both sides of the balance sheet have to come down. Whether it comes down by 50%, 75% or 90%, I don’t know. All I think about is risk, and the financial system will not survive in its present form. Central banks only use one kind of medicine, and that is more printed money. Now, you are getting negative returns on printed money. So, that is not going to save anything. 

Sadly we are looking at a situation when this system will start to implode. The rich are still rich, but the poor are really poor. Overall in the UK, Germany and most European countries, people don’t have enough money to live. This is a human disaster already. With food costs going up 25% and energy going up the same and gasoline, interest rates and rents, people don’t have enough money, and that is happening now. It’s a human disaster of mega proportions. It’s so sad, and governments will have no chance of doing anything about it. The risk is increasing exponentially,  and it is going to get worse.” There is much more in the 43-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with Egon von Greyerz of Matterhorn Asset Management, which can be found on GoldSwitzerland.com
o

Greg Hunter, "Desperate Deep State Wants War & Martial Law"

"Desperate Deep State Wants War & Martial Law"
by Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com

"Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong says we are getting down to the wire with the 2024 Election, and the Deep State Dems are in panic mode. Could we have a false flag, martial law, debt crisis, default, war or all of the above? Armstrong says, “They want war. There is no question about that.Lindsey Graham was on Face the Nation a couple of months ago, and he slipped and told the truth for once. I was shocked that he actually slipped and told the truth for once. He said there was a $10 trillion to $12 trillion natural gas asset under Crimea, and we can’t allow Russia and China to get that. This is like Iraq. We are going after the oil.”

On martial law, Armstrong says, “I am very concerned about martial law. They (Supreme Court) have kind of hinted that martial law is a common law type thing. When the courts are closed, then you have martial law. It is justified under ‘necessity.’ This is what the Supreme Court has said. So, I am very concerned that these neocons are so desperate that they are definitely going to try to create some sort of a false flag or anything they can do perhaps the last week in October going into the election.”

On the war front, we just had Israel bomb Iran, and NATO is still poking Russia. Armstrong says, “NATO is a retirement home for neocons. It should have been shut down. They are trying to take the world into World War III. They are now raising a $100 billion so they can continue the war against Russia in case Trump is elected.”

Armstrong is still seeing Trump winning in 2024 in a “landslide.” Kamala Harris is going the other way. A few months back, Armstrong said Kamala’s real approval rating was 10.5%. Armstrong says he just ran new Kamala Harris approval ratings with his Socrates computer program. Armstrong says, “It’s actually down to 6.5% to 7.5%. It’s really appalling.” Armstrong says Kamala has “negative coattails,” which will spell big losses for Democrats down ballot in November.

On the economy, Armstrong says, “We are in this debt Ponzi scheme where they issue new debt every year to pay off the old debt. People say the debt is $35 trillion, but the level of the debt does not matter. It could be a quadrillion dollars. China holds 10% of America’s debt. They sold $53 billion at the beginning of the year. This is where the danger comes. If you don’t have someone to take up what China is not buying, guess what? You can’t pay, and when you can’t pay, that’s when a default comes. This is why they want war, so they can default on everything. They take us to war, and there goes Social Security and everything else.”

On the 2024 Election, Armstrong says, “The 2024 Election will be the last election. The US will break up into three or four sections. We are committing suicide. This is how governments die. Gold goes up when people lose confidence in government. This is why central banks want gold. They are afraid of governments defaulting on their debt in war. In the war, we lose it next time. They want terrorism so they can lock us down. This is the future we face.” There is much more in the 1-hour and 3-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter on Rumble as he goes One-on-One with Martin Armstrong 
as he gives his analysis on martial law, debt default and world war. 

"The Middle East: War"

Dialogue Works, 10/27/24
"Col. Larry Wilkerson & Scott Ritter: 
Iran Destroys Israeli Attack – IDF Crushed by Hezbollah Power!"
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
OpenmindedThinker Show, 10/27/24
"Iranian Professor Goes Viral Hitting Israel Right Where It Hurts"
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
OpenmindedThinker Show, 10/26/24
"Colonel Douglas Macgregor: Iran Crushed Israel;
Coming Retaliation Plans Shock Israel!"
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"How It Really Is"

 

"We Must Believe..."

“When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take a step into
the darkness of unknown, we must believe one of two things will happen.
There will be something solid to stand on, or we will be taught how to fly.”
- Patrick Overton

Dan, I Allegedly, "They Are Canceling Christmas: The Shocking Truth!"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, AM 10/27/24
"They Are Canceling Christmas: 
The Shocking Truth!"
"Hey everyone, it's Dan from IAllegedly. Brace yourselves as I uncover the controversial decisions around this festive season. From Neiman Marcus dropping "Christmas" to cities like Miami canceling events, it's clear that the traditional holiday spirit faces challenges. Dive into why corporate America's move towards inclusivity is stirring the pot and what this means for families everywhere. Join me as we discuss the financial pressures impacting holiday spending and how heartwarming gestures mean more than expensive gifts. Stay informed and connected: be part of the conversation."
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"Tiny Matters..."

 

"Doom Psychology Gripping The Nation"

"Doom Psychology Gripping The Nation"
by Jim Quinn

“No evil dooms us hopelessly except the evil we love,
and desire to continue in, and make no effort to escape from.”

"I might be mistaken, but I’ve been noticing behavior and observing economic and financial data which leads me to believe a shadow of doom enveloping the nation and the world is causing excessive risk taking behavior. I’m no psychologist, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. The examples of doom behavior are numerous.

On the way to the grocery store yesterday on a non-dangerous road where people drive 30 to 40 miles per hour, a car had just gone across the road and crashed into the concrete barrier head on. The entire car was destroyed. Either they were cut off by someone or tried to pass someone and lost control. Excessive speed and total recklessness on the part of at least one driver was a given. The number of angry drivers is surging. The traffic reports on the radio constantly reference multi-car accidents. A recent road rage incident included dudes wielding a machete.

I drive to and from work on the Northeast Extension and over the last several months I’ve witnessed extreme risk taking by numerous drivers. Going 80 mph on the 70 mph highway is far too slow for a particular demographic. Tailgating at 80 mph is now common. I frequently witness assholes weaving in and out of traffic at over 100 mph. I’ve seen multiple drivers cross two lanes of traffic at excessive speed, directly onto an off-ramp. These people appear to have death wish. I was cut off by a lunatic doing at least 40 mph while entering a 15 mph toll booth two weeks ago.

Nationally and in PA, traffic fatalities have been surging. My hypothesis that a fatalistic doom psychology has caused this reckless behavior may be true, or not. Being a committed conspiracy theorist who makes connections, I also wonder whether the covid jabs have created a brain fog or sudden rage that is also contributing to this recklessness. Maybe all the sheep who got the jabs finally realize the spike protein is a ticking time bomb and a premature death is in their future. Therefore, they have decided to live for today.

Doom spending has been another factually provable action that has been underway for the last year or so. We all know the Biden administration unleashed a tsunami of inflation through their idiotic spending based on the covid scam, fake infrastructure bills, and doling out hundreds of billions to the illegal invaders they ushered into the country, while shipping another $175 billion to Zelensky in their proxy war against Putin. Real wages for the average American have been falling for the last four years, as the cost of groceries, rent, homes, energy, insurance, and all everyday expenses have far out paced wage increases.

The non-Average Americans who constitute the 1%, or more accurately the .1%, have been doing great for the last four years, as the Federal Reserve kept rates at 0% for a ridiculously long time, driving stock prices to all-time highs. The “Haves” are doing great. The “Have Nots” are sinking further into poverty. And this has all been purposefully engineered by the ruling oligarchs. The reaction to this purposeful destruction of the finances of the majority of Americans, particularly among younger people, is what is being referred to now as doom spending.

Doom spending is when a person mindlessly shops and spends to self-medicate because they feel pessimistic and fatalistic about their economic prospects. If they see no way out, they see no implications to spending money they don’t have, maxing out their credit cards and leasing or financing luxury automobiles far above their ability to pay. This doom spending, promoted and sustained by Wall Street and the Fed easy money policies, is a major factor in the government being able to report positive GDP numbers, even though the economic situation of the majority is in the toilet. The government are specialists in reporting fake numbers and propagandizing false narratives.

Eventually this doom psychology will lead to an actual doom scenario. Whether this is triggered when enough people, corporations, and governments begin to default on their unpayable debts, or whether it is triggered by election chaos or global conflict, the financial collapse of the United States is a certainty. The politicians, and the overlords pulling their strings, have no intention of voluntarily abandoning the system and schemes that have made them obscenely wealthy. Many in the masses have embraced this doom psychology, but they have no idea what real doom looks like. When the final catastrophic collapse of this decrepit, deluded, debt ridden empire commences and the currency is destroyed, the chaos and violent upheaval will the 1930s look like the good old days.

“There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.” – Ludwig von Mises
o
Hat tip to Jim Quinn and The Burning Platform for this material.

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Canadian Prepper, "Alert! Iran Getting Nuclear Weapons, Plans Major Retaliation! US Sends Dozens Of Planes To Qatar"

Canadian Prepper, 10/26/24
"Alert! Iran Getting Nuclear Weapons, Plans Major Retaliation! 
US Sends Dozens Of Planes To Qatar"
Comments here:

"Israel Weak and Terrified: Iran's Superior Defenses Crush IDF"

Danny Haiphong, 10/26/24
"Israel Weak and Terrified:
 Iran's Superior Defenses Crush IDF"
"Geopolitical analyst and journalist Ben Norton joined as we broke the news about Israel's so-called "retaliation" to Iran. This video exposes the truth about the puny response and what it means overall geopolitically as all out war in the Middle East inches closer."
Comments here:

Jeremiah Babe, "Don't Chase The Money Dream - Quitters Don't Win"

Jeremiah Babe, 10/26/24
"Don't Chase The Money Dream -
 Quitters Don't Win"
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: Richard Harris, “MacArthur Park”, 1968

Richard Harris, “MacArthur Park”, 1968

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Have you ever seen the Pleiades star cluster? Even if you have, you probably have never seen it as large and clear as this. Perhaps the most famous star cluster on the sky, the bright stars of the Pleiades can be seen without binoculars from even the depths of a light-polluted city. With a long exposure from a dark location, though, the dust cloud surrounding the Pleiades star cluster becomes very evident. The featured exposure, taken from Florida, USA, covers a sky area several times the size of the full moon.
Also known as the Seven Sisters and M45, the Pleiades lies about 400 light years away toward the constellation of the Bull (Taurus). A common legend with a modern twist is that one of the brighter stars faded since the cluster was named, leaving only six of the sister stars visible to the unaided eye. The actual number of Pleiades stars visible, however, may be more or less than seven, depending on the darkness of the surrounding sky and the clarity of the observer's eyesight."

"A Person Who Has Remained A Person..."

“A person who has not been completely alienated, who has remained sensitive and able to feel, who has not lost the sense of dignity, who is not yet ‘for sale’, who can still suffer over the suffering of others, who has not acquired fully the having mode of existence – briefly, a person who has remained a person and not become a thing – cannot help feeling lonely, powerless, isolated in present-day society. He cannot help doubting himself and his own convictions, if not his sanity.”
- Erich Fromm

The Poet: Galway Kinnel, "Another Night in the Ruins"

"Another Night in the Ruins"

"How many nights must it take
one such as me to learn
that we aren't, after all, made
from that bird that flies out of its ashes,
that for us
as we go up in flames,
our one work is
to open ourselves,
to be the flames?"

~ Galway Kinnel

The Daily "Near You?"

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.
Thanks for stopping by!

"When That Day Comes..."

"If you had one last breath - what would you say? If you had one hour to use your limbs before you would lose the use of them forever - would you sit there on the coach? If you knew that you wouldn't see tomorrow who would you make amends with? If you knew you had only an hour left on this earth - what would be so pressing that you just had to do it, say it, or see it? Well there is something that I can guarantee - that one day you will have one day, one hour and one breath left. Just make sure that before that day that you have said, done and experienced everything that you dream of doing now. Do it now - that is what today is for. So pick up the phone and call an old friend that you have fallen out of touch with. Get out and run a mile and use your body and sweat. Seek out someone in your life to say you're sorry to. Seek someone In your life that you need to thank. Seek someone in your life that you need to express your feelings of love to. Then when that day comes you will be ok with it all."
- John A. Passaro

"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

"If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to
 please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl."
- H. L. Mencken

"The Chief Obstacle...:

"The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race."
- Don Marquis

"In the mass of mankind, I fear, there is too great a majority of fools 
and knaves, who, singly from their number, must to a certain degree 
be respected, though they are by no means respectable."
- Philip Stanhope

"Thought..."

"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth, more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man."
- Bertrand Russell

"Five percent of the people think; 
ten percent of the people think they think; 
and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think."
 - Thomas A. Edison.

“In The Long Run… We Are All Alive”

“In The Long Run… We Are All Alive”
by MN Gordon 

“In 1976, economist Herbert Stein, father of Ben Stein, the economics professor in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, observed that U.S. government debt was on an unsustainable trajectory. He, thus, established Stein’s Law: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” Stein may have been right in theory. Yet the unsustainable trend of U.S. government debt outlasted his life.  Herbert Stein died in 1999, several decades before the crackup. Those reading this may not be so lucky.

Sometimes the end of the world comes and goes, while some of us are still here. We believe our present episode of debt, deficits, and state sponsored economic destruction, is one of these times.. We’ll have more on this in just a moment. But first, let’s peer back several hundred years. There we find context, edification, and instruction.

In 1696, William Whiston, a protégé of Isaac Newton, wrote a book. It had the grandiose title, “A New Theory of the Earth from its Original to the Consummation of All Things.” In it he proclaimed, among other things, that the global flood of Noah had been caused by a comet. Mr. Whiston took his book very serious. The good people of London took it very serious too. Perhaps it was Whiston’s conviction. Or his great fear of comets. But, for whatever reason, it never occurred to Londoners that he was a Category 5 quack.

Like Neil Ferguson, and his mathematical biology cohorts at Imperial College, London, Whiston’s research filled a void. Much like today’s epidemiological models, the science was bunk. Nonetheless, the results supplied prophecies of the apocalypse to meet a growing demand. It was just a matter of time before Whiston’s research would cause trouble…

Judgement Day: In 1736, William Whiston crunched some data and made some calculations. He projected these calculations out and saw the future. And what he witnessed scared him mad. He barked. He ranted. He foamed at the mouth to anyone who would listen. Pretty soon he’d stirred up his neighbors with a prophecy that the world would be destroyed on October 13th of that year when a comet would collide with the earth.

Jonathan Swift, in his work, “A True and Faithful Narrative of What Passed in London on a Rumour of the Day of Judgment,” quoted Whiston: “Friends and fellow-citizens, all speculative science is at an end: the period of all things is at hand; on Friday next this world shall be no more. Put not your confidence in me, brethren; for tomorrow morning, five minutes after five, the truth will be evident; in that instant the comet shall appear, of which I have heretofore warned you. As ye have heard, believe. Go hence, and prepare your wives, your families, and friends, for the universal change.”

Clergymen assembled to offer prayers. Churches filled to capacity. Rich and paupers alike feared their judgement. Lawyers worried about their fate. Judges were relieved they were no longer lawyers. Teetotalers got smashed. Drunks got sober. Bankers forgave their debtors. Criminals, to be executed, expressed joy.

The wealthy gave their money to beggars. Beggars gave it back to the wealthy. Several rich and powerful gave large donations to the church; no doubt, reserving first class tickets to heaven. Many ladies confessed to their husbands that one or more of their children were bastards. Husbands married their mistresses. And on and on…

The Archbishop of Canterbury, William Wake, had to officially deny this prediction to ease the public consternation. But it did little good. Crowds gathered at Islington, Hampstead, and the surrounding fields, to witness the destruction of London, which was deemed the “beginning of the end.” Then, just like Whiston said, a comet appeared. Prayers were made. Deathbed confessions were shared. And at the moment of maximum fear, something remarkable happened: the world didn’t end. The comet did not collide with earth. It was merely a near miss.

The experience of Whiston, and his pseudoscience prophecy, shows that predictions of the end of the world come and go while people still remain. Sometimes the fallout of these predictions, and the foolishness they provoke, is limited. Other times the foolishness they provoke leads to catastrophe. Here’s what we mean…

“In the long run we are all dead,” said 20th Century economist and Fabian socialist, John Maynard Keynes. This was Keynes rationale for why governments should borrow from the future to fund economic growth today. Of course, politicians love an academic theory that gives them cover to intervene in the economy. This is especially so when it justifies spending other people’s money to buy votes. Keynesian economics, and in particular, counter-cyclical stimulus, does just that.

U.S. politicians have attempted to borrow and spend the nation to prosperity for the last 80 years. Over the past decade, the Federal Reserve has aggressively printed money to fund Washington’s epic borrowing binge. Fed Chair Jay Powell confirmed that the Fed will pursue policies of dollar destruction to, somehow, print new jobs.

The world as it was once known – where a dollar was as good as gold – has come and gone. Today, in life after the end of that world, we are witnessing the illusion of wealth, erected by four generations of borrowing and spending, crumble before our eyes. Moreover, contrary to Keynes, in the long run we are not all dead. In fact, in the long run we are all very much alive. And we are all living with the compounding consequences of shortsighted economic policies.”

"Autumn Walking Tour in the Very Center of Moscow 2024"

Meanwhile, in a sane, civilized society...
Full screen recommended.
Different Russia, 10/26/24
"Autumn Walking Tour in the Very Center of Moscow 2024"
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"How It Really Is"

 

"Have We Ever Seen A Time When 4 Major Global Wars Are All Percolating Simultaneously?"

"Have We Ever Seen A Time When 4 Major Global Wars 
Are All Percolating Simultaneously?"
by Michael Snyder

"We have reached a moment in history that none of us will forget. We are literally standing on the precipice of the unthinkable, and most people don’t even realize it. Of course horrific wars have a way of erupting when most people are not expecting them. Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1914, but then tens of millions of precious souls died over the next four years. Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1939, but then tens of millions of precious souls died over the next six years. This time around, what is happening should be glaringly obvious to everyone. Personally, I have been specifically warning about what is taking place right now for more than a decade. If we do not change course, billions of precious souls could die during the nightmarish global wars that are rapidly approaching.

At this moment, most Americans have no idea that a war between the United States and China is coming. Just a few days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping boldly talked about “preparation for war” as he was dressed in military fatigues…

"On Thursday Chinese Communist Dictator Xi Jinping commanded troops to strengthen their preparedness for war while visiting his People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force following last week’s drills of surrounding the sovereign country of Taiwan. “Xi said the military should ‘comprehensively strengthen training and preparation for war, (and) ensure troops have solid combat capabilities,’ CCTV reported,” according to the AFP and reported on Barrons Saturday."

Why would China need to prepare for war? Needless to say, nobody is planning to attack China. The truth is that the only reason that China would need to prepare for war is if it was planning to invade Taiwan. Because the moment that China invades Taiwan, the U.S. and China will be at war.

In recent days, the Chinese have been getting very aggressive with Taiwan…"On Monday, Beijing had deployed fighter jets, drones, warships and coast guard vessels to encircle Taiwan - its fourth round of large-scale war games around the democratic island in just over two years. China’s communist leaders have insisted they will not rule out using force to bring Taiwan under Beijing’s control."

Meanwhile, western leaders continue to publicly discuss sending NATO troops to Ukraine. The latest example of this came from the foreign minister of Lithuania…"The Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a statement to Politico on Monday that European Union countries should return to the idea of putting boots-on-the-ground in Ukraine to fight Russia.

The idea comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said in February that sending Western troops to Ukraine is not ‘ruled out’ for the future plans in war against Russia, according to the AP. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shut down that plan for the time being however. “If information about Russia’s killing squads being equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel is confirmed, we have to get back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by [French President] Emmanuel Macron,” he said in written comments, Politico reported on Monday."

One of the reasons why this has came up again is because there are reports that soldiers from North Korea are being equipped and sent to fight for Russia on the front lines of eastern Ukraine…"North Korean soldiers have been filmed receiving uniforms and equipment at a training ground in Russia’s far east, appearing to confirm reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) that 1,500 soldiers have been shipped over for military training to be deployed in Ukraine. The North Korean troops are thought to be receiving training before being sent to the front line in Ukraine, in what is thought to be a clear sign of the ever-warming relations between Moscow and Pyongyang." Both sides just continue to escalate matters.

It appears to be just a matter of time before we find ourselves in a direct conflict with the Russians, and that is a really, really bad idea. North Korea has been making all sorts of noise lately. In addition to sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the North Koreans are also threatening to invade South Korea…"North Korea has said it had found the remnants of a South Korean military drone and that any further “violation” of its territory would result in a “declaration of war.” Tensions between the two sides of the peninsula have escalated since May when the North began flying balloons carrying garbage across the border to the South, prompting Seoul to respond by restarting loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts.

This week, North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over Pyongyang on three occasions this month and threatened to respond with force if it happened again. The North Korean military is vastly superior to the South Korean military. If North Korea invades, the only way that South Korea will survive is if we intervene."

But right now the U.S. military is focused on the Middle East, because that conflict could spiral completely out of control at any moment. On Sunday night, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari warned that Israel would soon begin targeting any financial institutions that aid Hezbollah… “In the past 24 hours, dozens of projectiles have been fired at northern Israel,” he began. “In the next minutes, we will issue an advance evacuation warning to residents of Beirut and other areas in Lebanon to evacuate locations being used to finance Hezbollah’s terror activities. I emphasize here: Anyone located near sites used to fund Hezbollah’s terror activities must move away from these locations immediately.

We will strike several targets in the coming hours and additional targets throughout the night. In the coming days, we will reveal how Iran funds Hezbollah’s terror activities by using civilian institutions, associations, and NGOs that act as fronts for terrorism.”

And it certainly did not take long for that to start happening. Last night, branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association Bank were hit by Israeli airstrikes…"Israeli fighter jets struck dozens of targets in Beirut and other areas of southern Lebanon overnight, including branches of a bank accused of holding funds used by Hezbollah. The military’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, had earlier in the night issued several evacuation orders for buildings throughout southern Lebanon he said were in the vicinity of facilities belonging to the U.S.-sanctioned Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association Bank."

Most people in the western world have absolutely no idea how chaotic things have become over there. It is being reported that there is “widespread panic” in Beirut at this moment…"Jeanine Hennis, the United Nations’ special coordinator for Lebanon, said that after the IDF issued its evacuations, said there was “widespread panic” in Beirut. “A brief window to escape to safety. Intense blasts reverberate across the night sky. With each day, Lebanon suffers more. But even amid the escalating violence, solutions remain available. If only opportunities would be seized,” she said."

Could the U.S. soon find itself involved in 4 major global wars? Let’s hope not, because we are not even prepared to fight one… The US Army’s outgoing top commander in the Pacific region has warned that the US can “ill afford” another war because its military is vastly overstretched.

According to Defense One, Gen. Charles Flynn said that the US’ authoritarian rivals - Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea - had been placing increasing pressure on American military resources. Speaking at the AUSA conference in Washington DC last week, Flynn described the technology and military alliances between the authoritarian states as a “very dangerous combination.” The U.S. military is not the overwhelming global force that it once was. While other major powers have been feverishly preparing to fight World War III, our military has been rapidly becoming a politically correct joke. Now a day of reckoning is upon us, and we are not ready."

Dan, I Allegedly, "You Are About To Go To Jail"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 10/26/24
"You Are About To Go To Jail"
"Are you ready for a bombshell revelation? In today's video on IAllegedly, we're diving deep into the world of PPP fraud and why you're REALLY going to jail for it. The feds are cracking down, and those who lied about their payroll numbers are in for a rude awakening. From high-flying fraudsters to unsuspecting small business owners, nobody's safe if they played fast and loose with the rules."
Comments here:

Canadian Prepper, "Alert! Israel's 100 Planes Attack Iran! China Conducts Doomsday EMP Test"

Canadian Prepper, 10/25/24
"Alert! Israel's 100 Planes Attack Iran! 
China Conducts Doomsday EMP Test"
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Times of India, 10/26/24
"Israel In Panic, Sends Secret Message To Iran, 
Tel Aviv Braces For Tehran Retaliation"
"Israel sent a message to Iran prior to strikes on Tehran attack warning Islamic Republic against any retaliation to the IDF attack, Axios reported, citing sources. The message was sent through third parties and sought to prevent escalation after the attack. The U.S. believes Iran may hit Israel once again to avenge the weekend attack, Axios reported."
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
Times Of India, 10/26/24
"'What Attack?': Iran Mocks Israel For 'Weak Strike'; 
Calls Out IDF's '100 IDF Aircraft' Claim As Lie"
Comments here:

Friday, October 25, 2024

"Larry C. Johnson & Andrei Martyanov: Israel Attacks Iran!"

Dialogue Works, 10/25/24
"Larry C. Johnson & Andrei Martyanov:
 Israel Attacks Iran!"
Comments here:

"Ben Norton: Israel Attacks Iran, Putin Warns of WW3 as BRICS Crushes Dollar"

Danny Haiphong, 10/25/24
"Ben Norton: Israel Attacks Iran, 
Putin Warns of WW3 as BRICS Crushes Dollar"
Comments here:

Redacted, "Col. Douglas Macgregor: Israel Is Destroying Itself And Millions Will Die"

Redacted, 10/25/24
"Col. Douglas Macgregor:
 Israel Is Destroying Itself And Millions Will Die"
Comments here:

Jeremiah Babe, "Escaping California For The Deep South - The US Housing Market Is Extremely Overvalued"

Full screen recommended.
Jeremiah Babe, 10/25/24
"Escaping California For The Deep South - 
 The US Housing Market Is Extremely Overvalued"
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: Disturbed "The Sound Of Silence"

Full screen recommended.
Official release.
Disturbed "The Sound Of Silence"
Singer: David Draiman
1,042,094,300  views.
Full screen recommended.
Conan O'Brian Show live performance.
Disturbed, "The Sound Of Silence" (Live)


Folks, there's "something" here, it touches your soul, what it is I can't say,
 but if there are words for it I don't know them, and can only stand in speechless awe...

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Point your telescope toward the high flying constellation Pegasus and you can find this expanse of Milky Way stars and distant galaxies. Centered on NGC 7814, the pretty field of view would almost be covered by a full moon. NGC 7814 is sometimes called the Little Sombrero for its resemblance to the brighter more famous M104, the Sombrero Galaxy.
Both Sombrero and Little Sombrero are spiral galaxies seen edge-on, and both have extensive central bulges cut by a thinner disk with dust lanes in silhouette. In fact, NGC 7814 is some 40 million light-years away and an estimated 60,000 light-years across. That actually makes the Little Sombrero about the same physical size as its better known namesake, appearing to be smaller and fainter only because it is farther away. A very faint dwarf galaxy, potentially a satellite of NGC 7814, is revealed in the deep exposure just below the Little Sombrero.”

"The Heaviest Burdens..."

 

The Poet: James Baldwin, "Amen"

"Amen"

 "No, I don't feel death coming.
I feel death going:
having thrown up his hands,
for the moment.
I feel like I know him
better than I did.
Those arms held me,
for a while,
and, when we meet again,
there will be that secret knowledge
between us." 

- James Baldwin