"Doug Casey on 2024's Defining Events and What Comes Next"

"Doug Casey on 2024's Defining Events

 and What Comes Next"

by International Man

International Man: As we approach the end of the year, let's take a step back, review the Big Picture, and assess 2024's major developments to better understand what may come next. Before we drill down into specifics, what's your high-level view of what happened in 2024?

Doug Casey: Let's break it down into politics, economics, technology, and culture. Politically, the election of Trump, against the will of the Elite, the Deep State, and the Establishment - they're pretty much the same thing - came as a surprise to me. I suspected they'd succeed in stealing the election. More important than the election of Trump, though, is the defeat of Kamala and the Jacobins of the Democrat Party.

That defeat is echoed by a reaction against the Left most everywhere. The leftist German government - it was starting to mimic the old East German regime - will hopefully be replaced with the AfD. The elitist Macron is on his way out in France, as is Trudeau in Canada. In Romania, the election of Georgescu (see our interview with him) is being fought tooth and nail by their Deep State, but I think he'll triumph. Hungary and Slovakia won't participate in the insane war in the Ukraine. There's a growing reaction against both war and Wokeism.

Regarding the economy, the average guy's standard of living is flat to descending, albeit propped up by debt. He's buried under mortgage debt, auto loans, student debt, and credit card debt. It is, to use a currently fashionable word, unsustainable like that of the government itself. On the bright side, the top 10%, and especially the top 1%, aided by a roaring stock market, are doing better than ever. Will it lead to a violent wave of resentment among the hoi polloi? When has it not?

Technologically, Artificial Intelligence finally came into its own in 2024. It's widely used, and scores of gigantic data centers, which consume gigantic amounts of power, are being built everywhere. AI itself is cause for huge optimism. But it also, almost inevitably, means there will be a renaissance of nuclear power; even Greens seem to recognize it. Space exploration is advancing rapidly with the success of SpaceX, which has taken over from NASA, the Europeans, and the Chinese.

Culturally, it seems 2024 was the year of Peak Woke in the universities, media, and corporations. The idiotic bubble has finally burst. One sign of that was the delegitimization of mass media. Nobody trusts CNN, MSNBC, or any other networks. People increasingly get news from decentralized sources.

At the same time, there's a growing trend towards delegitimizing government in general, and the US government in particular. We saw this with the hurricane in North Carolina, where FEMA was not only unhelpful but counterproductive. And the hundreds of large drones floating around the Northeast at night. The government proved itself too incompetent to solve the mystery and too dishonest to discuss its findings, if any. Across the country, people have become pretty fed up with the old order. So, except for the underlying rot in the economy, this is all good news.

International Man: Trump winning the 2024 presidential election was a defining moment in 2024. What are your thoughts on the political and cultural changes sparked by this?

Doug Casey: Sometimes a man makes the times, and other times, the times make the man. It's the latter with Trump. History is punctuated by people like Alexander, Caesar, Genghis Khan, Louis XIV, Napoleon, and Hitler. People like that - and it's a hugely abbreviated list -change the nature of life, mostly by leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. The most famous men in history are, perversely, and almost without exception, the most criminal.

Americans escaped, by the skin of their teeth, what would have become a Democrat "people's republic" under the dim and evil Kamala. That said, the election of Trump will break a lot of rice bowls, which is great. It's needed, and I'm all for it. But anything can happen with the economy, the political system, American culture, and the international situation all on shaky ground.

Maybe Trump augurs morning in America, as did Reagan. But when Reagan was elected, the stock market was around 1000 - in real terms, a historic low. Interest rates were over 15%, historic highs. And Reagan was philosophically quite libertarian. Now, however, the stock market is at all-time highs, in bubble territory. Interest rates have started rising from all-time lows. And Trump is no libertarian; he lacks a philosophical center. Those are scary differences.

It's said that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon can cause a flood in China. Trump is like a butterfly the size of Rodan. And he's righteously pissed off about what the Jacobins tried to do to him.

We're in for big changes. But let's look at this from a historical perspective. The long-term trend of history, since the end of the Neolithic 12,000 years ago, is that everything's been getting better in all ways at an accelerating rate. Unless we suffer a real disaster, like WW3, economic and technological progress will almost certainly continue. The installation of Trump, Kamala, or whoever is no more than a bump in the road.

International Man: One of the most significant financial events of 2024 was the Federal Reserve's pivot back to monetary easing under the pretext of having defeated inflation. What are your thoughts on this policy shift and its broader economic implications?

Doug Casey: I'm amazed that anybody really cares about what the Federal Reserve says or seems to do. Manipulating short-term interest rates by a quarter or a half of a percent here or there is trivial. Long-term rates are what count; long-term, not short-term, rates represent the cost of capital to build industry and develop property. With the Fed creating dollars by the trillions to support the government, rates can only go up.

The dollar has lost at least 98% of its value since the Fed was created 111 years ago. And that trend is accelerating as the US government runs multi-trillion-dollar deficits, which can only be financed by the Fed, creating more dollars. They have no real choice.

The question is not whether the Fed is going to adjust rates up or down. It's whether we will have a 1923-style German runaway inflation or a 1929-style catastrophic deflation. If the Fed doesn't print money fast enough to finance all the debt in the world, the whole system will come unglued in a deflation. So, I'm betting on more money and credit being created. And higher prices to go with them.

International Man: What were the most crucial geopolitical events of 2024, and how might they shape the future?

Doug Casey: The most important geopolitical event has received the least press: the election of Javier Milei in Argentina. His success in rolling back the size of the Argentine government is historic. He has fired scores of thousands of government employees, abolished agencies, abolished many taxes, and abolished a lot of price controls and subsidies. The government, which has perpetually run in deeply the red, financed by printed fiat money, is now in the black after only one year. This is a really major change, a veritable first in world history, and a change in the megatrend, with any luck.

A lesser noticed but related sea change is the triumph of Bukele's policies in El Salvador. Two years ago, it had probably the world's worst crime problem after Haiti. Now, it's one of the world's safest countries. It was solved, at least temporarily, by locking up about 65,000 known gang members. In the meantime, there's complete freedom of speech and opinion, and property rights are secure. As a bonus, Bitcoin is recognized as an official currency.

The other big event is the collapse of the Assad regime. There will be complete chaos as numerous groups jockey for control of Syria. I think it's a template for the future in most of the artificially constructed countries of the Middle East and Africa - the whole world, in fact - although hopefully more peaceably in most places.

International Man: Gold and Bitcoin hit new all-time highs in 2024, while the S&P 500 rose around 24% year-to-date at the time of writing. What's next?

Doug Casey: Gold is no longer cheap. It's about where it "should" be, compared to historical prices of houses, cars, clothes and food. Bitcoin, as a new asset class, a digital age money, is finding its level. As it catches on with the world at large, it's going higher. But this isn't the time to discuss why I think that's true. Resource stocks - gas, oil, uranium, coal, gold, silver, copper, etc. - are truly cheap. They're the best speculative vehicles I can think of. Will they go 10-1 as a group? It wouldn't be the first time. As for the bubbly stock and bond markets, there's an incoming tsunami. Get out of the water."

- https://internationalman.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Lawton, Oklahoma, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Something You Already Know..."

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!” 

- Rocky Balboa

"It Just Means..."

 

The Poet: Mário Raul de Morais Andrade, "The Valuable Time of Maturity"

"The Valuable Time of Maturity"

"I counted my years

and realized that

I have less time to live by,

than I have lived so far.

I have more past than future.

I feel like that boy who got a bowl of cherries.

At first, he gobbled them,

but when he realized there were only few left,

he began to taste them intensely.

I no longer have time to deal with mediocrity.

I do not want to be in meetings where flamed egos parade.

I am bothered by the envious,

who seek to discredit the most able,

to usurp their places, coveting their seats,

talent, achievements and luck.

I do not have time for endless conversations,

useless to discuss about the lives of others

who are not part of mine.

I no longer have the time to manage

sensitivities of people who despite their chronological age, are immature.

I hate to confront those that struggle for power,

those that ‘do not debate content, just the labels’.

My time has become scarce to debate labels,

I want the essence.

My soul is in a hurry. . .

Not many cherries in my bowl,

I want to live close to human people, very human,

who laugh of their own stumbles,

and away from those turned smug

and overconfident with their triumphs,

away from those filled with self-importance.

The essential is what makes life worthwhile.

And for me, the essentials are enough!

Yes, I’m in a hurry.

I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.

I do not intend to waste any of the remaining cherries.

I am sure they will be exquisite, much more than those eaten so far.

My goal is to reach the end satisfied

and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

And per Confucius “We have two lives

and the second begins when you realize you only have one.”

- Mário Raul de Morais Andrade

(Oct 9, 1893 – Feb 25, 1945)

Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, photographer”

"How It Really Is"

Quite intentionally...

"If You're Lonely..."

“If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.” 

- John River

"If your happiness depends on someone else, 

then I guess you do have a problem." 

- Richard Bach

"We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and - in spite of True Romance magazines - we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely - at least, not all the time - but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness." 

- Hunter S. Thompson

"Permanent Adolescence: The Epidemic That Will Destroy America"

"Permanent Adolescence:

The Epidemic That Will Destroy America"

by Dr. Paul Kindlon

"As a Humanities professor I have had the opportunity to teach psychology and social psychology for more than 25 years. Occasionally the knowledge obtained in these areas allows me to analyze and understand social behavior and certain cultural trends. This is one those occasions.

If one is able to observe American society in an objective manner (granted no easy task) it becomes clear that the country is suffering from an epidemic of arrested emotional development (AED). This particular illness is characterized by some combination of: addiction, greed, immaturity, fear, blame, shame, resentments, anger, confusion and suffering. What it means is that the vast majority of Americans are stuck in adolescence exhibiting behavior like lying, negative attitudes, disobedience and disrespect, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and issues of sexuality.

One has only to watch American movies or television shows to get a snapshot of juvenile, puerile, and base comedy characteristic of adolescent humor. It’s no accident that 48 year old Jimmy Fallon is essentially the “eternal teenager” performing comedy that mostly includes bathroom humor and gags that are based on and appeal to a silly sense of immaturity. The other darling of late-night shows in America is Stephen Colbert, age 58, who specializes in insulting public figues in an overtly adolescent display of negative attitude and disrespect.

Another hallmark of AED is to evade responsibility and blame others for failure. One had only to observe the millions of Hillary supporters to understand this phenomenon. Also common for AED sufferers is to show disrespect in sophomoric ways usually by damaging property as we see with monuments being defaced and destroyed.

Teenagers, of course, tend to have identity issues often involving sexuality which is another phenomenon all too apparent in contemporary America. It’s almost uncool not to be LGBT or confused about your gender nowadays. Soon there will be as many genders as ice-cream flavors for it’s all just a matter of taste!

In terms of cognitive activity AED is characterized by exaggeration and over-simplification. If you are angry with one of your parents you might refer to them as a Nazi or Fascist.

This negative attitude now is extended to anyone who disagrees with you and can be seen in slogans such as “No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA”. Adults are an endangered species. The cognitive effect of exaggeration and over-simplification leads to irrationality and confusion. Witness the millions of people who think they are being anti-racist by opposing “White Supremacy”. No anthropologist on earth would claim that “White” is a race (although a Neo- Nazi would) It’s not even a primary color. The Irish were discriminated against for more than a hundred years in America due to Anglo-Saxon racism yet the Irish are considered “white”. There are millions of Americans of German, Polish, and Scandinavian extraction who have been working-class and lower for a very long time. Are these “white people” guilty of supremacy? Against whom? Themselves?

Of course, what the protestors should be focusing on is class and not race which is really an arbitrary term. Unfortunately. the progressive movement in America has gone from “Occupy Wall street” to “occupy the public bathroom”. Lenin would be turning over in his grave – if he had one. With regard to alcohol and drug addiction in America, the statistics are startling. Opiod addiction alone is becoming a national health issue as is depression. Alcohol abuse, of course, is also quite high. Lying is also becoming commonplace. It used to be just politicians and lawyers who were known to “play with the truth”. Nowadays the mainstream media is widely seen as a mainstream of lies with CNN now wearing the title of FAKE NEWS.

The teenage attempt to rebel and show disobedience is often manifested through the use of profanity intended to shock the older generation. Gratuitous profanity is pervasive in American culture and has replaced the imagination as a form of creativity. It is not an accident that Pussy Riot – a group of “performance artists” using profanity in a Cathedral considered sacred to “shock” the Russian public and “disobey” authorities – has found a home in the United States and been befriended by Madonna, another symbol of eternal adolescence. Her AED was on full display when she publicly offered all men fellatio if they voted for Hillary Clinton. And as any rebellious teenager attempting to shock the “older generation” she had to announce that she “swallows”. Stay classy, Madonna. Keep in mind we’re talking about a 63 year old mother of six.

You see…if everyone is a teenager there is no adult supervision. That is the problem. After an autopsy is conducted years from now to ascertain how and why the American Empire expired, the obituary will include multiple causes of death and AED will be listed prominently. Perhaps a precocious teenager will be allowed to write the epitaph that will read…”When extended, the bridge between adolescence and adulthood can take a heavy toll”.

- https://www.lewrockwell.com/

○

“Most people don’t grow up. It’s too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older. That’s the truth of it. They honor their credit cards, they find parking spaces, they marry, they have the nerve to have children, but they don’t grow up. Not really. They get older. But to grow up costs the earth, the earth. It means you take responsibility for the time you take up, for the space you occupy. It’s serious business. And you find out what it costs us to love and to lose, to dare and to fail. And maybe even more, to succeed."

- Maya Angelou

The Poet: Maya Angelou, “Alone”

“Alone”

“Lying, thinking

Last night

How to find my soul a home,

Where water is not thirsty

And bread loaf is not stone.

I came up with one thing

And I don’t believe I’m wrong,

That nobody,

But nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires

With money they can’t use,

Their wives run round like banshees,

Their children sing the blues.

They’ve got expensive doctors

To cure their hearts of stone,

But nobody,

No, nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody

Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely

I’ll tell you what I know…

Storm clouds are gathering,

The wind is gonna blow.

The race of man is suffering,

And I can hear the moan,

‘Cause nobody,

But nobody,

Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone,

Nobody, but nobody,

Can make it out here alone.”

- Maya Angelou

"Home Alone: Why America Is Dealing With A Severe Epidemic Of Loneliness Right Now"

"Home Alone: Why America Is Dealing With A 

Severe Epidemic Of Loneliness Right Now"

by Michael Snyder

"We live in a society where a significant chunk of the population feels painfully alone much of the time. It is an epidemic that has enormous mental, emotional and spiritual implications, and it is one of the clearest signs that we are a society that is coming apart at the seams. One of the primary reasons why there is so much loneliness in our society is because the institution of the family is in decline. Today, the proportion of the population that is single and childless is at an all-time high, and the proportion of the population that is married with children is at an all-time low. How can anyone possibly claim that we are headed for a bright future when we are facing such alarming societal trends?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40 percent of Americans report feeling lonely at least some of the time…"The latest version of the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey - a broad gauge of the economic and social issues affecting American households - found some not-so-surprising news: Americans are lonely. The survey conducted between August 20 and September 16 reported that 1 in 8 people (12.6%) was feeling lonely either “always” or “usually,” including nearly a quarter (23.3%) of the younger population (those aged 18 to 29). Since the Household Pulse Survey at the start of the year, slightly more people are now feeling lonely a lot of the time. 40% of people reported feeling lonely at least sometimes."

Those are very troubling numbers. But of course others that have studied our epidemic of loneliness have come up with similar numbers. In fact, a report put out by the U.S. Surgeon General concluded that close to half of the U.S. population experiences feelings of loneliness…"Last year, the US Surgeon General released a worrying report about the deep sense of loneliness that many Americans are experiencing. The report, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” found that approximately 50 percent of adults in the country are feeling lonely, and that people of all ages are spending significantly less time with others."

The findings have profound implications for the health of the country. Being lonely or socially isolated puts people at heightened risk for a number of serious illnesses - the report estimates it to be the health equivalent of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day - including depression, cardiovascular disease, and dementia. Those that feel lonely on a regular basis are far more likely to develop serious illnesses, and they are far more likely to die early. So this is a crisis that we should be taking very seriously.

One survey actually discovered that the proportion of men that do not have any close friends has increased “fivefold since 1990”…"Who are the loneliest people in America? American men were said to be in a “friendship recession,” with a survey finding the number of men without any close friends increased fivefold since 1990." Have you ever wondered why so many older Americans seem so sad much of the time? Well, now you know.

People are yearning for human connection, and Google search trends prove this…"So it’s no wonder there’s been a rise in running clubs, knitting groups, pickleball, and more, as people search - quite literally - for ways to meet new people. Google searches for terms like “how to meet people” and “where to make friends” are at or near an all time high."

Somewhere along the way, something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. And I believe that it starts with the institution of the family. In 1940, just 7.7 percent of all U.S. households were one person households, but by 2020 that figure had jumped to 27.6 percent…"Over a quarter (27.6%) of all U.S. occupied households were one-person households in 2020, up from just 7.7% in 1940, according to recently released 2020 Census data. The share of people living alone increased every decade from 1940 to 2020. The largest increase happened between 1970 and 1980, when the share increased from 17.6% to 22.7%."

We were not meant to live alone. But now more Americans than ever are doing just that. Just look at this insane chart…

Sadly, this decade that trend has continued. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, right now 29 percent of all U.S. households are one person households…"In 2024, there were 38.5 million one-person households, which was 29% of all U.S. households. In 1974, one-person households represented only 19% of all households."

The reason why there are so many one person households now is because almost half of all U.S. adults are not married…"From nationalsinglesday.us, “Did you know that 46.4% of U.S. adults are single according to the U.S. Census Bureau? That’s 117.6 million unmarried Americans – nearly every other adult aged 18 and over. This includes those who are divorced or widowed as well as those who have never married. National Singles Day is observed each year during Unmarried and Single Americans Week.”

More than ever before, Americans are rejecting traditional norms regarding marriage and family. In fact, the proportion of the population that is single and childless now exceeds the proportion of the population that is married with children. A chart that Brad Wilcox just posted absolutely blew me away…

The chart above makes it abundantly clear that we are a dying society. Our birth rate has been under replacement level for a long time because so many Americans don’t want to get married and don’t want to have children. Sadly, our entire culture has become anti-marriage, anti-family and anti-children to a very large degree. If we do not reverse the insidious trends that have corrupted our culture, we have no hope of defeating the epidemic of loneliness that we are currently facing. Humans are meant to love and to be loved, and that is one of the reasons why the traditional family unit is an absolutely vital societal institution."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

Musical Interlude: Disturbed "The Sound Of Silence"

Full screen recommended.

Official release.

Disturbed "The Sound Of Silence"

Singer: David Draiman

1,057,250,709  views.

○

Full screen recommended.

Conan O'Brian Show live performance.

Disturbed, "The Sound Of Silence" (Live)

152,056,878 views.

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"

"Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of a small galaxy group a mere 60 million light-years away toward the aquatically intimidating constellation Cetus. Seen edge-on, the island universe spans over 100,000 light-years, a little larger than our own Milky Way galaxy. The colorful, spiky stars decorating this cosmic portrait of NGC 1055 are in the foreground, well within the Milky Way. But the telltale pinkish star forming regions are scattered through winding dust lanes along the distant galaxy's thin disk.

Click image for larger size.

With a smattering of even more distant background galaxies, the deep image also reveals a boxy halo that extends far above and below the central bulge and disk of NGC 1055. The halo itself is laced with faint, narrow structures, and could represent the mixed and spread out debris from a satellite galaxy disrupted by the larger spiral some 10 billion years ago."

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

"Oh! Had I The Ability..."

"Oh! Had I the ability, and could I reach the nation's ear, I would today pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced."

“I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued.”

- Frederick Douglass

"Yemen Declares War On Israel; Missiles, Drones Storm Tel Aviv, Ashkelon Cities"

Full screen recommended.

Times Of Israel, 12/25/24

"Yemen Declares War On Israel; Missiles, 

Drones Storm Tel Aviv, Ashkelon Cities"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full horrifying screen recommended.

Double Down News, 10/16/24

"Israeli Soldiers Sickening War Crimes Exposed"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Democracy Now! 10/10/24

“The First Live-Streamed Genocide”: 

Al Jazeera Exposes War Crimes Israeli Troops Filmed Themselves"

"A new documentary from Al Jazeera takes a look at evidence of war crimes in Gaza in the form of social media posted by Israeli soldiers recording and celebrating their own attacks on Palestinians. We play excerpts from the film Investigating War Crimes in Gaza, now available online, and speak to two of the journalists involved in its production, director Richard Sanders and Gaza-based correspondent Youmna ElSayed. “Israelis themselves were telling us precisely what they were doing and why they were doing it,” says Sanders about the evidence the team reviewed. “They don’t think it’s complicated. They don’t think it’s nuanced. Their rhetoric is often overtly genocidal.” ElSayed adds, “They’ve had all the courage to do that because they know that they are not even going to be condemned.”

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Stipendium peccati mors est, Israel, Hell is not hot enough and eternity not long

 enough for you psychopathically degenerate in-bred sub-human Zionist monsters...

- CP

Yeah, I said that, and I don't give a damn who doesn't like it, and if I said 

what I really thought, and how I'd say it, they'd delete this blog in a heartbeat...

And YOU, America! WE should hang our heads in eternal shame and disgrace for allowing and supporting these monsters in this genocide, because we paid for every single bomb and bullet, every single tank and jet bomber, all of it, over $17.9 billion in the last 14 months! 45,400 Palestinians slaughtered, mostly women, old people, and at least 18,000 CHILDREN; 107,800 wounded; at least 10,000 more buried under the bombed out ruins of their homes and unrecovered! Are you proud of the blood on YOUR hands?! - CP

"Alert! YouTube's Final Hours; Grid Down; Day X; No More Internet; What Will You Do?"

Canadian Prepper, 12/25/24

"Alert! YouTube's Final Hours; Grid Down; Day X; 

No More Internet; What Will You Do?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Rock Port, Missouri, USA. Thanks or stopping by!

"Philadelphia Homeless Community Merry Christmas"

Full screen recommended.

Narcotropolis, 12/25/24

"Philadelphia Homeless Community Merry Christmas"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

There but for the grace of God go you and I...

"As Americans Celebrate, The World Is Plunging Into An Abyss Of War, Famine, Natural Disasters And Pestilence"

"As Americans Celebrate, The World Is Plunging Into 

An Abyss Of War, Famine, Natural Disasters And Pestilence"

by Michael Snyder

"Sticking our heads in the sand and pretending that everything is okay isn’t going to do anyone any good. Chaos has been erupting all over the globe, and global events are likely to accelerate even more in 2025. But as I write this article, most Americans have shifted into “vacation mode” and are focused on celebrating. Of course many do not have the resources to celebrate like they did in the past. As I discussed the other day, 35 percent of Americans plan to spend less this holiday season and only 16 percent plan to spend more. But there is still a whole lot of spending going on. The average U.S. adult will spend about a thousand dollars on gifts this year, and all of this stuff will bring a certain level of temporary happiness. Meanwhile, our world is going completely and totally nuts.

In recent weeks, there has been a growing consensus in the mainstream media that World War III is already here. For example, the following comes from a Forbes article entitled “World War III Has Already Begun – And Businesses Need To Take Note”…"The sudden collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s despotic regime in Syria this weekend highlights the interconnectedness of a growing number of global conflicts, revealing a hard truth that most of us would rather not think about too deeply: World War III has already begun. Business leaders need to recognize this and begin planning accordingly."

At this moment, we are closer to nuclear war with Russia than we have ever been before, the Chinese are closer to invading Taiwan than ever before, North Korea continues to threaten to invade South Korea, and the incoming administration is seriously considering bombing Iran’s nuclear program…"Ahead of his January 20 inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump is evaluating the possibility of preemptive strikes on Iran to stop its growing nuclear program, according to a Friday morning Wall Street Journal report. According to the WSJ, this move would mark a significant change from previously established US policy on diplomacy and sanctions when dealing with Tehran. The report outlines the Trump team’s evaluation of potential attacks on nuclear sites, indicating that members of the president-elect’s transition team are exploring this option."

2024 has certainly been a year of war. Unfortunately, I am entirely convinced that World War III will only intensify in 2025. Dozens of armed conflicts are currently raging all over the planet, and this is just one of the factors that has pushed global food prices up dramatically in recent months. The poorest of the poor are being hit particularly hard. Women and children are dropping dead of starvation in Sudan right now, and it is being reported that the famine in that country has now spread to five new areas…

"Famine in Sudan has expanded to five areas and will likely spread to another five by May, the global hunger monitor reported Tuesday, while warring parties continue to disrupt humanitarian aid needed to alleviate one of the worst starvation crises in modern times. Famine conditions were confirmed in Abu Shouk and al-Salam, two camps for internally displaced people in al-Fashir, the besieged capital of North Darfur, as well as in residential and displaced communities in the Nuba Mountains, according to the Famine Review Committee of the Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC)."

Thankfully, people are not dropping dead from starvation here in the United States. But as I documented last week, demand at food banks all over America is setting brand new record highs. Nobody can dispute these facts, because they are true.

Let me give you some more facts. From 1984 to 2003, the U.S. experienced about 5 “billion dollar disasters” a year…"There were 97 natural disasters between 1984 and 2003 that cost more than $1 billion. From 2004 to 2023, that number rose to 273. Extreme weather events can affect demand for utilities, threaten aging infrastructure, and result in volatile fuel costs."

On October 24th, Fox Weather reported that the U.S. had already experienced 24 “billion dollar disasters” in 2024…"With the addition of three recent Atlantic hurricanes, the U.S. has experienced 24 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters this year – a near-record number, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

On Thursday, NOAA’s NCEI released its assessment of the global climate, including U.S. weather disasters. Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton and one tornado outbreak were added to this year’s billion-dollar weather and climate disasters, bringing the total to 24 events as of October."

This is our new normal. On average, we are being hit by a “billion dollar disaster” about every two weeks. Our world is becoming so unstable, and signs of volatility are all around us. In fact, just yesterday one of the most violent volcanoes on U.S. soil started erupting again…"Kilauea volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, is erupting, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the eruption began at 2 a.m. local time on Monday, elevating Kilauea’s volcano alert system to the highest warning levels within a closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. “The opening phases of eruptions are dynamic,” the USGS said."

Natural disasters will continue to be a major theme in 2025, and I am entirely convinced that pestilences will be a major theme during the coming year as well. The New York Times is telling us that the much deadlier new strain of mpox that has emerged in central Africa is spreading like wildfire in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. And confirmed cases of that new strain have now been reported in Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States…"Even as the World Health Organization (WHO) maintains the mpox situation in Africa is “especially concerning”, the disease has been reported in another country outside of the continent.

In the latest weekly bulletin, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that a case of mpox has been detected in Belgium. The mpox virus in the case is from the clade 1b. With this, Belgium became the eighth non-African country to report mpox infection from clade 1b. The other countries are Canada, Germany, India, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States."

Of course global health authorities are even more alarmed about the potential for a bird flu pandemic. H5N1 continues to rip through poultry farms and dairy herds all over the nation, and now Los Angeles County has reported their very first human case…"Los Angeles County health officials reported the first human case of bird flu in the area less than a week after a statewide emergency declaration was announced. In a statement released on Monday, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said the human case of H5 bird flu was detected in an adult who was exposed to livestock infected with the virus at a worksite."

All over the world, people are starting to get infected, and many health experts are warning that a global crisis has become inevitable. Needless to say, most Americans are not paying much attention to the things that I have shared in this article. Instead, their focus is on other things.

At this point, everybody knows who Luigi Mangione is, because the mainstream media has been endlessly obsessing over Luigi Mangione. And apparently there are quite a few young women that have decided that Luigi Mangione is some sort of a hero…"An eerie public show of support for Luigi Mangione outside New York Supreme Court on Monday drew comparisons to The Manson Family. A few dozen masked young women swayed and sang as the alleged UnitedHealthare CEO killer pleaded not guilty plea on terrorism charges. The 26-year-old sported a collared shirt, maroon sweater and orange shoes as he leaned over to a microphone to enter his plea."

How sick is that? His new “fans” rushed to buy the sweater that he wore to court, and so now it is out of stock…"The Nordstrom knit sweater – which has been likened to the sweaters worn by the Menendez brothers during their infamous trial – has already sold out. Immediately, Mangione’s fans tracked down the Marino crewneck top, which retails for $89.99 and is currently 30 percent off, and rushed to purchase it."

What is wrong with these people? Luigi Mangione is a murderer. Some are suggesting that he deserves the death penalty, and it is hard to argue with that. But if he deserves the death penalty, what does our entire society deserve for killing more than 60 million American children since 1973? Sadly, I think that it won’t be too long before we find out…"

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/a

"Reset Coming: Debt Jubilee Will Unleash Unimaginable Inflation (Wealth Transfer)"

Jeremiah Babe, 12/24/24

"Reset Coming: Debt Jubilee Will Unleash

Unimaginable Inflation (Wealth Transfer)"

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"A Debt Jubilee of Biblical Proportions Is Coming - 

Are You Ready?"

By Nick Giambruno

"Four thousand years ago, the rulers of ancient Babylon discovered a technique to stave off violent revolts. In ancient times, people often became hopelessly indebted to their creditors. As debts mounted, social unrest would boil over, threatening the stability of the entire ruling system. The rulers of the ancient world understood this dangerous dynamic. Their solution was radical yet effective: enact widespread debt cancellation - a debt jubilee.

Debt jubilees acted as societal pressure release valves when no other options remained. The practice spread throughout the ancient world and became codified in various civilizations. For instance, the Book of Leviticus formalizes debt jubilees as the conclusion of a 49-year biblical cycle - seven cycles of seven years. I believe this ancient practice is poised for a major comeback as government, corporate, and personal debt levels today have reached unsustainable heights. The social, political, and investment implications will be profound.

Debt Jubilees: Redistribution, Not Wealth Creation: It’s important to note that debt jubilees do not create new wealth - they simply redistribute it. Debt jubilees are government decrees that trigger massive wealth transfers, creating big winners and losers. President Biden’s plan for student loan forgiveness marks the beginning of modern debt jubilees. His student loan forgiveness plan is unprecedented. Unilateral executive action of this scale has never occurred during peacetime. Moreover, Congress, not the president, is supposed to make spending decisions of this magnitude.

Even Obama’s former chief economic advisor, Jason Furman, criticized Biden’s move, calling it: “Pouring roughly half a trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning - reckless.” Beyond the inflationary impact - which I’ll address shortly - Biden’s student loan jubilee will set a precedent that will be hard to undo. Consider how those who acted prudently feel.

Many avoided student debt by choosing less expensive career paths, cutting back on spending to pay for college without borrowing, or paying off their student loans entirely. These people are probably feeling like suckers now. Not only do they receive no relief, but they also face the burden of footing the bill for those whose loans will be forgiven. I imagine these people will be angry and probably have considerable car, mortgage, and credit card debt, as many Americans do. So they will want debt relief, too… and I bet they will get it.

Amid rising prices, consumer debt is skyrocketing. It is at an all-time high of nearly $18 trillion, as seen in the chart below.

With interest rates rising recently, the cost of servicing this record debt is becoming unbearable for many. As Americans hit their financial breaking points, I believe debt forgiveness demands will only grow louder - extending far beyond student loans. All it takes is a President’s pen stroke to wipe out hundreds of billions in debt. The student loan jubilee will set a powerful precedent.

I don’t think it will be long before we see a credit card jubilee, a car loan jubilee, or even a mortgage jubilee. How will the government pay for all these jubilees? Raising taxes enough to cover them seems improbable. Issuing more debt to cancel other debts would be contradictory. That leaves money printing as the only viable option. This is why future debt jubilees will pour “gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning.” But it’s not just consumer debt that’s unsustainable. The biggest problem is the US government’s federal debt - a much larger issue looming on the horizon.

The Federal Debt Endgame: A Coming Crisis: The US federal government has the largest debt in the history of the world - and it’s growing at a rapid, unstoppable pace. In short, the US government is fast approaching its financial endgame. Here’s why…

Today, the US federal debt has gone parabolic, amounting to over $36 trillion. To put it in perspective, if you earned $1 per second 24/7/365 - about $31 million per year - it would take over 1,148,531 years to pay off the US federal debt. And that assumes the debt stops growing, which it won’t. The growth rate is not even going to slow down. It’s going to increase exponentially.

The truth is, the debt will keep piling up unless Congress makes some politically impossible decisions to cut spending. For example, tens of millions of Baby Boomers - about 22% of the population - will enter retirement in the coming years. Cutting Social Security and Medicare is a sure way to lose an election.

With the most precarious geopolitical situation since World War 2, defense spending is unlikely to be cut. Instead, defense spending is all but certain to increase. Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently said: “Barely staying even with inflation or worse is wholly inadequate. Significant additional resources for defense are necessary and urgent.”

In short, efforts to reduce expenditures will be meaningless unless it becomes politically acceptable to make chainsaw-like cuts to entitlements, national defense, and welfare while reducing the national debt to lower the interest cost. In other words, the US would need a leader who - at a minimum - returns the federal government to a limited Constitutional Republic, closes the 128 military bases abroad, ends entitlements, kills the welfare state, and repays a large portion of the national debt.

However, that’s a completely unrealistic fantasy. It would be foolish to bet on that happening. In short, the US government is trapped. It’s game over. They have no choice but to “reset” the system - that’s what governments do when they are trapped.

How Will the US Reset the System? Nobody knows for sure. But I’d bet a debt jubilee of biblical proportions will be a major part of it. So then, how will the US government repudiate its impossible federal debt burden? My guess is that they won’t be explicit. That would look too much like a default. It would destroy the role of the US as the center of the world’s financial system. Given a choice, I don’t think the US government would choose immediate self-destruction. Since power does not relinquish itself voluntarily, we should presume they’ll decide to stealthily implement their federal debt jubilee through inflation.

Inflation benefits debtors, allowing them to borrow in dollars and repay in dimes. And since the US government is the biggest debtor in the history of the world, it stands to gain the most from inflation.

Inflation: The Ultimate Debt Jubilee: That’s why I believe the federal debt jubilee will come in the form of a massive wave of inflation. The coming debt jubilees could wipe out trillions in liabilities while unleashing previously unimaginable inflation. That could trigger the largest wealth transfer in history.

Remember, debt doesn’t exist within a vacuum. It’s a liability for the borrower and an asset for the lender. Those storing wealth in government currencies, bonds, and other paper assets will be the biggest losers. Debtors and owners of scarce, unencumbered, hard assets will be the big winners. It’s certainly not a just outcome. Prudent savers shouldn’t have to pay for the excesses of debtors. But notions of what is just or not didn’t stop Biden’s student loan jubilee - and they won’t stop the coming jubilees.

Prepare Now for the Coming Reset: Although it will be an unfortunate outcome for many people, there is simply nothing anyone can do now. The debt levels have already reached a critical point, and the government may soon see jubilees as a politically expedient option. That’s why it’s crucial to recognize the reality of this Big Picture and position yourself accordingly. That means owning scarce and valuable assets that are not simultaneously someone else’s liability.

Crucially, this excludes fiat currency in bank accounts. Remember, fiat currency is the unbacked liability of a bankrupt government. Further, once you deposit currency into a bank, it is no longer yours. Technically and legally, it is the bank’s property, and what you own instead is an unsecured liability of the bank. In an era of jubilees in which debts are wiped clean, you won’t want to be on the other end of unsecured liabilities or IOUs of any kind. I believe this “reset” could happen soon - and it won’t be pretty for many. Most people have no idea how bad things could get - or how to prepare."

- https://internationalman.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

“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.”

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

"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

"Human Progress..."

"It is common to assume that human progress affects everyone - that even the dullest man, in these bright days, knows more than any man of, say, the Eighteenth Century, and is far more civilized. This assumption is quite erroneous. The great masses of men, even in this inspired republic, are precisely where the mob was at the dawn of history. They are ignorant, they are dishonest, they are cowardly, they are ignoble. They know little if anything that is worth knowing, and there is not the slightest sign of a natural desire among them to increase their knowledge."

- H. L. Mencken

"Living on the Edge: The Most Dangerous Time in History"

Dialogue Works. 12/25/24

"Living on the Edge: The Most Dangerous Time in History" 

Scott Ritter & Larry C. Johnson

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