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Wednesday, February 5, 2025

"Nukemap"

Click image for larger size.
"Nukemap"
by Alex Wellerstein

"Effect distances for a 1.2 megaton airburst:

Detonation altitude: 3,320 m. (Chosen to maximize the 5 psi range)

Fireball radius: 1.04 km (3.39 km²): Maximum size of the nuclear fireball; relevance to damage on the ground depends on the height of detonation. If it touches the ground, the amount of radioactive fallout is significantly increased. Anything inside the fireball is effectively vaporized. Minimum burst height for negligible fallout: 0.94 km.

Moderate blast damage radius (5 psi): 7.47 km (175 km²): At 5 psi overpressure, most residential buildings collapse, injuries are universal, fatalities are widespread. The chances of a fire starting in commercial and residential damage are high, and buildings so damaged are at high risk of spreading fire. Often used as a benchmark for moderate damage in cities. Optimal height of burst to maximize this effect is 3.32 km.

Thermal radiation radius (3rd degree burns): 13.2 km (547 km²): Third degree burns extend throughout the layers of skin, and are often painless because they destroy the pain nerves. They can cause severe scarring or disablement, and can require amputation. 100% probability for 3rd degree burns at this yield is 11.4 cal/cm2.

Light blast damage radius (1 psi): 21 km (1,390 km²): At a around 1 psi overpressure, glass windows can be expected to break. This can cause many injuries in a surrounding population who comes to a window after seeing the flash of a nuclear explosion (which travels faster than the pressure wave). Often used as a benchmark for light damage in cities. Optimal height of burst to maximize this effect is 4.97 km."
Utilize the Nukemap here:

Free Download: Nevil Shute, "On The Beach"

"On the Beach"
by Wikipedia

"'On the Beach' is a post-apocalyptic novel published in 1957, written by British author Nevil Shute after he emigrated to Australia. The novel details the experiences of a mixed group of people in Melbourne as they await the arrival of deadly radiation spreading towards them from the Northern Hemisphere, following a nuclear war the previous year. As the radiation approaches, each person deals with impending death differently.

The phrase "on the beach" is a Royal Navy term that means "retired from the Service." The title also refers to T. S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men", which includes the lines:

"In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river."

Printings of the novel, including the first 1957 edition by William Morrow and Company, New York, contain extracts from Eliot's poem on the title page, under Shute's name, including the above quotation and the concluding lines:

"This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper."

Freely download, "On The Beach", by Nevil Shute, here:
Full screen recommended.
"On The Beach" complete movie.
"Although there'd been "doomsday dramas" before it, Stanley Kramer's "On the Beach" was considered the first "important" entry in this genre when originally released in 1959. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute, the film is set in the future (1964) when virtually all life on earth has been exterminated by the radioactive residue of a nuclear holocaust. Only Australia has been spared, but it's only a matter of time before everyone Down Under also succumbs to radiation poisoning. With only a short time left on earth, the Australian population reacts in different ways: some go on a nonstop binge of revelry, while others eagerly consume the suicide pills being issued by the government. When the possibility arises that rains have washed the atmosphere clean in the Northern hemisphere, a submarine commander (Gregory Peck) and his men head to San Diego, where faint radio signals have been emanating. The movie's all-star cast includes: Peck as the stalwart sub captain, Ava Gardner as his emotionally disturbed lover, Fred Astaire as a guilt-wracked nuclear scientist, and Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson as the "just starting out in life" married couple."

The Poet: Mary Oliver, “Evidence”

“Evidence”

“Where do I live?
 
If I had no address, as many people do not,
 
I could nevertheless say that I lived in the 
same town as the lilies of the field,
 
and the still waters.


Spring, and all through the neighborhood 
now there are
 strong men tending flowers.
Beauty without purpose is beauty without virtue.

But all beautiful things, inherently, have this function -

to excite the viewers toward sublime thought.

Glory to the world, that good teacher.

Among the swans there is none 
called the least,
 or the greatest.
I believe in kindness. Also in mischief.
 
Also in singing, 
especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed.

As for the body, 
it is solid and strong and curious and full of detail;
 
it wants to polish itself; it wants to love another body;

it is the only vessel in the world that can hold,
 
in a mix of power and sweetness:

words, song, gesture, passion, ideas,
ingenuity, 
devotion, merriment, vanity, and virtue.
Keep some room in your heart for the unimaginable.”

- Mary Oliver
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for! To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless - of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?’ Answer: That you are here - that life exists, and that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”
- “Dead Poets Society”

The Daily "Near You?"

Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Vitae Summa Brevis"

"Vitae Summa Brevis"

"They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses;
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream."

- Ernest Dowson
“Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam”
 is a quotation from Horace’s “First Book of Odes”: 
“The shortness of life prevents us from entertaining far-off hopes.”

"Thurber's Tail: How My Dog Brought Joy To My Elderly Dad"

"Thurber's Tail: 
How My Dog Brought Joy To My Elderly Dad"
by Tom Purcell

"My Lab puppy, Thurber, was born on Christmas Day, 2020 - the best Christmas blessing I ever received. But he bestowed even greater blessings on my mother and father. In his 87th year, my father was facing a series of health challenges. Waiting for the other shoe to drop - waiting for a middle-of-the night call to help pick him up from a fall - had become the norm. Visits to my parents’ house were becoming less joyful and more stressful as my dad, with limited mobility, needed help getting in and out of his chair and had to ask his kids to assist with the many daily tasks he used to do himself so effortlessly.

We gave my father endless support as his needs grew but his decline brought sadness, and the sadness began permeating my parents’ home, hitting us hard every time we entered the front door. That all changed the day I brought my puppy Thurber home.

Thurber's first visit: The day I picked Thurber up in Punxsutawney, Pa., my plan was to drive directly to my mom and dad’s house. I slipped into their house quietly through the garage and sneaked up the back steps. I knew they’d be in the family room watching an old movie. That’s what they often did in the afternoons - and, sure enough, that is what they were doing.

In I walked, a soft cuddly puppy in my arms - and the room lit up like a Christmas tree. The joy was immediate and, just like that, my mom and dad were transformed from their late 80s into giddy, 10-year-old children. I set Thurber on my father’s lap and the puppy was in his glory, his tail wagging wildly. Dogs always loved my father and sensed instantly, and correctly, that he was the alpha male in the room. The two played and cuddled a good long while as Thurber climbed all over my dad and found an especially comfortable spot between him and the arm of his recliner.

I brought Thurber over to my mom and she too was thrust into instant joy and affection. We never think of our parents as being children, but with a puppy in her arms my mother became a happy little girl. It was as if her father, who died when she was only 19, was watching over her again - providing her with the warmth and security he did so well in her childhood.

After a time, my mother set Thurber on the floor, where I lay enticing him to play with me. I laughed aloud as he jumped on me and showered me with his affection, but it was more than just puppy affection that brought me so much joy. It was wonderful to feel the undivided love and playfulness my puppy directed solely at me. Better yet, it made my mother and father happy to see their middle-aged son being made so happy by the puppy who would now be an integral part of his world.

An angel of joy: I stayed a few hours that Friday afternoon, the first time in months we were able to forget about my dad’s health woes - the first time we laughed in I don’t recall how long. The power of a puppy is transformative, and my transformation was just beginning then, and continues still.

There is a saying I came across in which God is talking to a puppy and he says, “I removed your wings so they won’t know you are an angel.” Well, on the day I brought Thurber home, he became an angel of joy to my father and mother.

I didn’t know that for the next year and a half I’d be able to bring him to my parents’ house for multiple visits that inevitably resulted in childlike happiness for us all - sadness left their home instantly every time Thurber visited. And when Thurber celebrated his first birthday on Christmas Day of 2021, we had the celebration in my parents’ home, and it was a grand event full of laughter and joy.

I didn’t know last Christmas that my father would leave us nine months later - he’d leave us a few days after we’d celebrated his 89th birthday. But I will treasure forever the many joyful visits Thurber and I made to my parents’ home, in which their difficult days were made so much brighter by a furry angel with hidden wings!"

Editor's note: This column is an excerpt from Tom Purcell’s book, “Tips from a New Dog Dad.” Read more chapters at ThurbersTail.com.

"The Great Thing..."

 

"The great thing about the internet is that you get to meet people you
 would otherwise only meet if you were committed to the same asylum."
- Robert Brault
So, you look around in horrified astonishment at how totally insane it all really is, how the never ending bad news is everywhere you look, how truly hopeless it really is, and know there's nothing at all you can do about it, can't save anyone, can't even save yourself. So you remember what they said and how you need to be, and carry on...

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority,
but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”
- Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"

“That millions of people share the same forms of
mental pathology does not make these people sane.”
- Erich Fromm, "The Sane Society"

“Laugh whenever you can. Keeps you from killing
yourself when things are bad. That and vodka.”
- Jim Butcher, "Changes"

"If You Treat Him..."

 

"How It Really Is"

 

"Life's Funny..."

"Life is painful and messed up. It gets complicated at the worst of times, and sometimes you have no idea where to go or what to do. Lots of times people just let themselves get lost, dropping into a wide open, huge abyss. But that's why we have to keep trying. We have to push through all that hurts us, work past all our memories that are haunting us. Sometimes the things that hurt us are the things that make us strongest. A life without experience, in my opinion, is no life at all. And that's why I tell everyone that, even when it hurts, never stop yourself from living."
- Alysha Speer

"The joke was thinking you were ever really in charge of your life. You pressed your oar down into the water to direct the canoe, but it was the current that shot you through the rapids. You just hung on and hoped not to hit a rock or a whirlpool."
- Scott Turow

"Life's funny, chucklehead. You only get one and you don't want to throw it away. But you can't really live it at all unless you're willing to give it up for the things you love. If you're not at least willing to die for something - something that really matters - in the end you die for nothing."
- Andrew Klavan

Jim Quinn, "It's A Big Club And You Ain't In It" (Excerpt)

"It's A Big Club And You Ain't In It"
by Jim Quinn
Strong language alert.
“The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.” – George Carlin
o
“There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and ITT, and AT&T, and DuPont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of the world today. We no longer live in a world of nations and ideologies, Mr. Beale. The world is a college of corporations, inexorably determined by the immutable bylaws of business. The world is a business, Mr. Beale. It has been since man crawled out of the slime. And our children will live, Mr. Beale, to see that… perfect world… in which there’s no war or famine, oppression or brutality. One vast and ecumenical holding company, for whom all men will work to serve a common profit, in which all men will hold a share of stock. All necessities provided, all anxieties tranquilized, all boredom amused. And I have chosen you, Mr. Beale, to preach this evangel.” – Arthur Jensen, "Network"

Excerpt: "My level of cynicism about our governmental institutions, corporate institutions, religious institutions, and the world in general has reached epic proportions over the last several years, as I find myself believing nothing I’m told by authority figures, media talking heads, politicians, government lackeys, scientists, doctors, or anyone peddled by the MSM as an expert. I know the average American just wants to be told what to think, what to believe, and what to do, but I can’t bring myself to not think critically and question the blizzard of lies swirling around me on a daily basis. When virtually everyone you come into contact with on a daily basis believes the narratives spun by their overlords (and they are too programmed to know they have overlords), pretending to not notice their ignorance is exhausting.

Essentially, finding like-minded people to communicate with is relegated to internet interactions, mostly on my own website. I’ve thrown in the towel on trying to awaken my family and now former friends. Covid was the IQ test, and they failed miserably. My cynicism about our nation and criticism of those running the show flows freely in my household. I do find myself wondering whether I am being too cynical about whether Trump can reverse the downward spiral of the empire of debt he now reigns over. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, like I did during his first term. I will judge him on his actions and outcomes, rather than his endless rhetoric.

I believe the quotes above capture the gist of the world we inhabit. The first is from George Carlin’s cynical, devastating, dead-on accurate American Dream bit, performed four months before his death in 2008. Carlin himself described cynics as disappointed idealists. His description of the American Dream and how the ruling class sees us as nothing more than cogs in their financial machine was an accurate assessment of the world in 2008 just before the Fed/Wall Street induced financial crisis and has become even more prescient in the in the years since this performance. The second quote is from the 1976 movie Network. It is the unforgettable scene, written by Paddy Chayefsky, where Chairman of the network Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty) sets rogue anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) straight about how the world really works. America is a corporatocracy and businesses determines what we should eat, drink, think, and believe."
Complete, most highly recommended article is here:

"Scott Ritter, Larry Johnson & Ray McGovern: Trump & Israel's Gaza Takeover – WW3 in Middle East?"

Danny Haiphong, 2/5/25
"Scott Ritter, Larry Johnson & Ray McGovern: 
Trump & Israel's Gaza Takeover – WW3 in Middle East?"
"Donald Trump announced a complete US takeover of Gaza after talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, sparking global outcry and raising the specter of an all out regional war even more intense than what transpired before the January ceasefire. Geopolitical analysts Scott Ritter, Larry Johnson and Ray McGovern weigh in on what comes next and how it will shape an already chaotic world situation."
Comments here:
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Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom, 2/5/25
"Phil Giraldi: A War Criminal Visits the White House"
Comments here:

Dan, I Allegedly, "Things are Getting Eggspensive - Get Ready for the Egg Surcharge"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 2/5/25
"Things are Getting Eggspensive - 
Get Ready for the Egg Surcharge"

"Waffle House is now charging a 50¢ surcharge per egg – can you believe it? In this video, I break down what’s behind this unexpected move, from skyrocketing egg prices caused by the bird flu to the impact this will have on your breakfast plans. With Waffle House serving a staggering 275 million eggs annually, this surcharge is set to rake in over $130 million. Crazy, right? Let's talk about what this means for diners and why eating out is becoming so expensive.

We also dive into some wild news, like Coca-Cola recalling products due to chlorate contamination, massive layoffs in Tennessee, and the insane collapse of commercial real estate prices – imagine a 31-story office building selling at a 97% discount! Plus, I talk about how AI is reshaping workplaces, from monitoring employees to streamlining manufacturing processes. It’s a lot to unpack, but you’ll want to stick around for all the insights."
Comments here:

"Adventures With Danno", "Travelling With Russell", 2/5/25

Full screen recommended.
Adventures With Danno, 2/5/25
"Answering Burning Questions: 
Housing Situation, Channel Growth, & Future Plans"
Comments here:
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Full screen recommended.
Travelling With Russell, 2/5/25
"I Went Shopping at a Russian Meat Factory Supermarket"
"What is it like shopping at a Meat processing plant company store? Join me on a tour of the Cherkizovo meat plant supermarket. What prices do they offer directly to customers at the factory door? Join me to find out."
Comments here:

Bill Bonner, "God's Work"

God touches Adam with the spark of life on
the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo
"God's Work"
by Bill Bonner

Baltimore, Maryland - "So far, we’re only a couple weeks into Donald Trump’s second try at governing the USA… it’s everything we expected – and more! Getting rid of DEI… abandoning the Energy Transition… closing departments and firing federal workers… pardoning Ross Ulbricht - yes, there are bright spots.

‘It’s time for it to die,’ said Elon Musk of the USAID. The agency ‘promotes democracy’ by undermining elections, engineering regime changes, spreading propaganda…and funneling billions of dollars to its chummy crony contractors. It should have been put to death a long time ago. And there are many other agencies that should be terminated along with it.

But there are some dark spots too -- trade wars… drug wars…Panama, Greenland, and now Gaza! banning, prohibiting, sanctioning, tariffing…ignoring the Constitution… flights of fancy, doomed to crash…and lose-lose deals that make no real sense.

Here’s the latest: "Trump orders creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. President Trump on Monday took the first steps toward his administration creating a government-owned investment fund, tasking the heads of the Treasury Department and Commerce Department with beginning the process to create an American sovereign wealth fund."

Uh…Don’t you need some ‘wealth’ to create a ‘wealth fund?’ Norway did it with the money it got from North Sea oil. China’s trillion-dollar wealth fund comes from its trade surpluses. Where will the US wealth come from? The government runs deficits… America’s trade balance is negative. And it has nearly $37 trillion in anti-wealth… aka debt.

Whatever ball Mr. Trump has his eye on, it ain’t the one that matters. In all the sound and fury of Trump’s executive orders and confrontations, there is scarcely any mention of the real challenge: avoiding a fiscal crisis. But the nice thing about Donald Trump… the fresh air of his administration… is that he is so transparently rapacious. Almost everything he says is a lie,r a mistake, or plain nonsense. But it is not gussied up with taffeta talk of the ‘rule of law’… the Constitution… or the ‘dignity of the Oval Office.’ All the claptrap and cupidity of an aging empire… like the painting of Dorian Gray… is finally on display. Pearls and Irritations opines:

"What Trump is announcing to Americans and the world contains more than elements of a new security, economic, political and human rights order. He is essentially proclaiming a new Pax Americana charter to replace the United Nations charter which he, and it should be noted, together with other US presidents have consistently violated since the charter was established in 1945 but which none until Trump has explicitly repudiated. 

Until now, America’s violence was cloaked in the hypocrisy of the 20th century. We were ‘making the world safe for democracy.’ We were promoting the globalized ‘liberal’ order… and protecting the world from fascism… and then, from communism… and later from terrorists. Donald Trump ‘tells it like it really is.’ We’re in it for what we can get out of it. And now, the whole world knows it. The Guardian: "Trump demands rare earths from Kyiv in exchange for aid.

US reportedly briefly paused weapon shipments into Ukraine…“We’re telling Ukraine they have very valuable rare earths,” Trump said on Monday. “We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earths and other things.” Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said Ukraine was willing, adding that he wants “equalization” from Ukraine for Washington’s “close to $300bn” in support.

Trump is bad. Trump is good. He is ‘destroying our democracy.’ Or, he is a genius, given to us (by God!) to make us great again. Our own guess - an admittedly grandiose sweep of historical dot connecting - is that Mr. Trump is simply Mr. Trump…neither bad nor good…but just another one of history’s useful dupes. His real mission, of which he is entirely unaware, is not to save the empire, but to sink it.

God does not permit trees to grow to the sky… nor does He allow empires - no matter what their pretensions - to rule forever. All things made by man have a beginning…and an end. The Roman Empire needed its Augustus…and its Caligula. And now, Donald J. Trump… Time’s ‘man of the year’…seems to be doing God’s work, hastening the end of American hegemonic power by turning much of the world against the USA. This view is so out-of-step with the bulk of popular opinion…it must be either very wrong…or very right. Whichever. We’ll accept the verdict of history, when it is finally rendered. Unless it goes against us."

"So Much Is Going On – Worst Egg Shortage Ever, New Virus In Alabama, Possible Santorini Eruption, And Tensions With China And Iran Escalate"

"So Much Is Going On – Worst Egg Shortage Ever, New Virus In Alabama, 
Possible Santorini Eruption, And Tensions With China And Iran Escalate"
by Michael Snyder

"We live at a time when global events are moving at a blistering pace. As Donald Trump and Elon Musk shake the very foundations of Washington D.C.’s giant bureaucracy, very alarming things are starting to happen all over the world. Chaos is erupting all around us, and I am entirely convinced that it is only going to intensify during the months ahead. Let me start by discussing the worst egg shortage in U.S. history.

All over the country, grocery stores and restaurants are having a really difficult time finding enough eggs right now…"American restaurants are falling victim to a national egg shortage that has already plagued grocery stores from New York City to San Francisco and sent prices to $7 a carton." I never imagined that egg prices would reach such dizzying heights in 2025, and the year has just begun.

In the Big Apple, a dozen cage-free eggs will set you back $11.99…"In New York City, prices reached as high as $11.99 for a dozen cage-free eggs at Whole Foods Inc. The national retailer placed a three-carton purchase limit on customers at some locations in the city. Customers in Nassau County on Long Island found supplies of Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs and Nellie’s free range ones sold out at Whole Foods online in the past week.

Organic eggs have been in short supply too. Over the weekend, refrigerated shelves were almost completely bare at a ShopRite in Brooklyn. The few crates left were priced at about $1 per egg. A nearby Costco was out of everything except quail eggs, according to grocery delivery app Instacart, and a Wegmans had run out of some of its store brands."

This is nuts. A dozen eggs should be less than a dollar. Or at least that was what life in America was like during the “good old days” prior to the pandemic. But now it appears that those days are gone for good.In fact, things are so bad that the Waffle House has decided to implement a “50 cent per egg surcharge”…"The Waffle House restaurant chain is putting a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place due to the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade. The 24-7 restaurant said that the resulting egg shortage has led to a dramatic increase in its costs.

Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching. Once upon a time, the two egg breakfast at the Waffle House was one of the most affordable breakfast meals in America. But now you will have to shell out $7.75 for it…"The Waffle House, a reliable source of a cheap breakfast, said that its egg surcharge became effective this week and that it applies to all of its menus. The restaurant’s two-egg breakfast, which comes with toast and a side, was listed at $7.75 on Tuesday. “While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” the company said."

The bird flu pandemic that has been raging all over the world since early 2022 has not gone away. In fact, over the last eight weeks it has been worse then ever…“If you look at what’s happened the last eight weeks, the number of poultry operations that have gone down — and more recently, the duck operations — is absolutely stunning,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota told Axios.

Unfortunately, some experts are warning us that it is just a matter of time before the bird flu starts spreading among humans on a widespread basis. When that happens, the panic that we will witness will be off the charts. Are you ready for that?

Meanwhile, there is news that a different deadly virus has been discovered in the U.S. “for the first time ever”…"A potentially deadly virus has been detected in the United States for the first time ever. Scientists identified the Camp Hill virus in shrews in Alabama, sparking fears it could find its way through animal reservoirs to humans and cause a potentially wide-reaching outbreak. The Camp Hill virus belongs to a family of pathogens called henipaviruses, including the Nipah virus, a bat-borne virus that kills up to 70 percent of people it infects. The Camp Hill virus, however, has never been recorded in humans and scientists don’t know what symptoms are or the death rate."

That is certainly alarming. And let us not forget about the outbreaks of Ebola, the Marburg virus, and a new strain of the monkeypox that are causing so much alarm in central Africa. Yes, pestilences are certainly shaping up to be one of the major themes of 2025.

In Europe, another sort of a threat is making headlines. Over the past week, more than 500 earthquakes have shaken the Santorini area…"Starting on January 28, the islands of Santorini and Amorgos have been rocked by near-constant tremors of magnitudes three to four. According to the University of Athens’ earthquake monitoring tool, more than 555 earthquakes have hit the area since then."

Needless to say, these quakes have created quite a stir, and people have been evacuating from Santorini in droves… "Hundreds of people left Santorini on ferries and planes on Tuesday to reach safety in Athens as a series of quakes kept shaking the famous Greek tourist island. Hundreds of quakes have been registered every few minutes in the sea between the volcanic islands of Santorini and Amorgos, in the Aegean Sea, in recent days, prompting authorities to shut schools in Santorini and the small nearby islands of Ios, Amorgos and Anafi until Friday."

Scientists are trying to assure us that everything is just fine and that a full-blown eruption of Santorini is not likely to happen. Hopefully they are correct about that, because an enormous eruption of Santorini that occurred many centuries ago was absolutely catastrophic…"However, geologists believe a vastly more powerful eruption occurred around 1620 BC which destroyed a large part of the island, blanketed the region with ash, and is even believed to have contributed to the downfall of the mighty Minoan civilization."

We have been witnessing unusual seismic activity here in the United States as well. In fact, during the month of December there was a very alarming swarm of earthquakes along the New Madrid fault zone…"It has been an active week on the New Madrid fault line. There have been ten small earthquakes in the Bootheel this week alone, with magnitudes ranging from 1.8 to 3.0." I don’t think that a major quake is going to hit the region immediately.

But it is interesting to note that officials do intend to update the emergency plan for that area of the country…"State officials are teaming up with federal offices to plan for one of the most unpredictable disasters, earthquakes. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management along with FEMA, Region 6, and 30 counties have teamed up to update the New Madrid Seismic Zone plan."

Before I end this piece, there are two more things that I wanted to mention. First of all, the Chinese have just announced that they will be imposing retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports…
"China unveiled a series of retaliatory measures against the U.S. on Tuesday, shortly after U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect, raising concerns of a broader trade war between the world’s two largest economies. China’s Finance Ministry said Tuesday it will impose additional tariffs of 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas imports from the U.S. and 10% higher duties on American crude oil, agricultural machinery and certain cars, starting Feb. 10." U.S. relations with China are heading downhill very fast. This will be something to watch very closely in the months ahead.

Also on Tuesday, Donald Trump signed an executive order that is intended to exert “maximum pressure” on Iran…"President Donald Trump will sign executive order on Tuesday restoring “maximum pressure” on Iran, Reuters is reporting, citing a US official. This is with the intended aim of thwarting all paths of the Islamic Republic toward a nuclear weapon. The US official also cited Iran’s “malign influence” in the Mideast region and de facto state of war with Israel, including support for regional militants who attack Israeli territory and interests.

“The official told Reuters that Trump’s directive orders the US Treasury Secretary to impose ‘maximum economic pressure’ on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions. The directive is aimed at denying Iran ‘all paths to a nuclear weapon’ and countering ‘Iran’s malign influence’ according to the official.”

Of course economic pressure alone is not going to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In recent months they have really been ramping up their program, and it is being reported that they have actually been working on delivery systems “with a 1,800‑mile range that could reach Europe”…"Iran has allegedly been covertly developing nuclear weapons with a 1,800‑mile range that could reach Europe using North Korean designs, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The Telegraph in Britain reported Sunday that details provided by the NCRI indicate that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is expanding its warhead program at two sites disguised as communication satellite launch facilities. The facilities, controlled by Iran’s nuclear weapons division – the Organisation for Advanced Defense Research (SPND) – are reportedly expediting missile production."

The Trump administration is not going to allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons. Likewise, the Israeli government is not going to allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons. But Iran has already almost reached a point of no return. So I am expecting to see military action against Iran in the not too distant future. When that happens, the Iranians will go absolutely ballistic, the price of oil will go through the roof, and the entire region will be thrown into a state of chaos. At this moment, the media is focusing on so many other things. But it won’t be too long before war with Iran makes really big news, and once we reach that stage everything will change."

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

"Alert! 'US Troops To Gaza'; Trump, Ukraines Nuclear Weapons; Embargo Iran"

Full screen recommended.
Canadian Prepper, 2/4/25
"Alert! 'US Troops To Gaza'; 
Trump, Ukraines Nuclear Weapons; Embargo Iran"
Comments here:

Musical Interlude: Supertramp, "Take The Long Way Home"

Full screen recommended.
Supertramp, "Take The Long Way Home"

"A Look to the Heaven"

"Riding high in the constellation of Auriga, beautiful, blue vdB 31 is the 31st object in Sidney van den Bergh's 1966 catalog of reflection nebulae. It shares this well-composed celestial still life with dark, obscuring clouds recorded in Edward E. Barnard's 1919 catalog of dark markings in the sky. All are interstellar dust clouds, blocking the light from background stars in the case of Barnard's dark nebulae. For vdB 31, the dust preferentially reflects the bluish starlight from embedded, hot, variable star AB Aurigae.
Exploring the environs of AB Aurigae with the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the several million year young star is itself surrounded by flattened dusty disk with evidence for the ongoing formation of a planetary system. AB Aurigae is about 470 light-years away. At that distance this cosmic canvas would span about four light-years.”

"The Only Consequence..."

"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end,
of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do."
- John Ruskin

Gerald Celente, "Dot-Com Bust 2.0: Ready Or Not, Here It Comes"

Strong language alert!
Gerald Celente, 2/4/25
"Dot-Com Bust 2.0: 
Ready Or Not, Here It Comes"
"The Trends Journal is a weekly magazine analyzing global current events forming future trends. Our mission is to present Facts and Truth over fear and propaganda to help subscribers prepare for What’s Next in these increasingly turbulent times."
Comments here:

Jeremiah Babe, "The Elite Want You Poor, Weak And Depressed; Federal Workers Are On Borrowed Time"

Jeremiah Babe, 2/4/25
"The Elite Want You Poor, Weak And Depressed;
 Federal Workers Are On Borrowed Time"
Comments here:
o

Dan, I Allegedly, "AI is Closing Bank Accounts"

Full screen recommended.
Dan, I Allegedly, 2/4/25
"AI is Closing Bank Accounts"

"AI is shaking things up in the banking world, and it's no joke – accounts are being closed, and you might be next. Are you prepared? In this video, I’m diving into how artificial intelligence is being used by banks to assess risks and shut down accounts for reasons they don’t even have to explain. From bad loans to industries banks just don’t like, no one is safe from this evolving tech. I’ll share real-life examples, the dangers of being “debanked,” and why having multiple bank accounts and emergency plans is more important than ever.

We’ll also touch on how industries like farming, gambling, and even independent contractors are being flagged as high-risk by AI systems. Don’t let this catch you off guard - I'll give you tips to protect your finances, stay prepared, and avoid being blindsided by these changes. Plus, we’ll explore whether AI could be the next Black Swan event to disrupt the financial system as we know it."
Comments here:

The Daily "Near You?"

Leesburg, Florida, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

The Poet: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "What If?"

"What If?"

"What if you slept?
And what if,
In your sleep
You dreamed?
And what if,
In your dream,
You went to heaven
And there plucked
A strange and
Beautiful flower?
And what if,
When you awoke,
You had the flower
In your hand?
Ahh, what then?"

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"Pepe Escobar: The Most Fabulous Orthodox Church of Russia"

Full screen recommended.
"Pepe Escobar: 
The Most Fabulous Orthodox Church of Russia"
"Built in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet army's victory over fascist Germany, the cathedral has become a spiritual symbol of Russia, glorifying the greatest triumph of life over death. Interesting facts:
- The steps of the cathedral are made from melted-down trophy weapons of the Wehrmacht!
- The captivating architecture of the cathedral is executed in the Russo-Byzantine style;
- Two tiers, height of 96 meters, 5 domes;
- 18 bells, the weight of the largest one is 18 tons;
- The complex's area is 11,000 square meters.
The temple has become the most expensive in Russia, with a total budget exceeding 6 billion rubles (over 66.5 million dollars). The monumental main gates of the complex bear the slogan "Nobody is forgotten, nothing is forgotten."
Comments here:
o
Full screen recommended.
GoodWalkers
"Walking Moscow Region: 
The Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces"
Comments here:

I'm absolutely astonished, speechless...

"Trapping Wild Pigs"

"Trapping Wild Pigs"
by Jeff Thomas

"Most of us would like to assume that we’re smarter than pigs, but are we? Let’s have a look. Pigs are pretty intelligent mammals, and forest-dwelling wild pigs are known to be especially wily. However, there’s a traditional method for trapping them. First, find a small clearing in the forest and put some corn on the ground. After you leave, the pigs will find it. They’ll also return the next day to see if there’s more.

Replace the corn every day. Once they’ve become dependent on the free food, erect a section of fence down one side of the clearing. When they get used to the fence, they’ll begin to eat the corn again. Then you erect another side of the fence.Continue until you have all four sides of the fence up, with a gate in the final side. Then, when the pigs enter the pen to feed, you close the gate.

At first, the pigs will run around, trying to escape. But if you toss in more corn, they’ll eventually calm down and go back to eating. You can then smile at the herd of pigs you’ve caught and say to yourself that this is why humans are smarter than pigs. But unfortunately, that’s not always so. In fact, the description above is the essence of trapping humans into collectivism.

Collectivism begins when a government starts offering free stuff to the population. At first, it’s something simple like free education or food stamps for the poor. But soon, political leaders talk increasingly of "entitlements" – a wonderful concept that by its very name suggests that this is something that’s owed to you, and if other politicians don’t support the idea, then they’re denying you your rights.

Once the idea of free stuff has become the norm and, more importantly, when the populace has come to depend upon it as a significant part of their "diet," more free stuff is offered. It matters little whether the new entitlements are welfare, healthcare, free college, or a guaranteed basic wage. What’s important is that the herd come to rely on the entitlements. Then, it’s time to erect the fence.

Naturally, in order to expand the volume of free stuff, greater taxation will be required. And of course, some rights will have to be sacrificed. And just like the pigs, all that’s really necessary to get humans to comply is to make the increase in fencing gradual. People focus more on the corn than the fence. Once they’re substantially dependent, it’s time to shut the gate.

What this looks like in collectivism is that new restrictions come into play that restrict freedoms. You may be told that you cannot expatriate without paying a large penalty. You may be told that your bank deposit may be confiscated in an emergency situation. You may even be told that the government has the right to deny you the freedom to congregate, or even to go to work, for whatever trumped-up reason.

And of course, that’s the point at which the pigs run around, hoping to escape the new restrictions. But more entitlements are offered, and in the end, the entitlements are accepted as being more valuable than the freedom of self-determination.

Even at this point, most people will remain compliant. But there’s a final stage: The corn ration is "temporarily" cut due to fiscal problems. Then it’s cut again… and again. The freedoms are gone for good and the entitlements are then slowly removed. This is how it’s possible to begin with a very prosperous country, such as Argentina, Venezuela or the US, and convert it into an impoverished collectivist state. It’s a gradual process and the pattern plays out the same way time and again. It succeeds because human nature remains the same. Collectivism eventually degrades into uniform poverty for 95% of the population, with a small elite who live like kings.

After World War II, the Western world was flying high. There was tremendous prosperity and opportunity for everyone. The system was not totally free market, but enough so that anyone who wished to work hard and take responsibility for himself had the opportunity to prosper. But very early – in the 1960s – The Great Society became the byword for government-provided largesse for all those who were in need – free stuff for those who were disadvantaged in one way or another.

Most Americans, who were then flush with prosperity, were only too happy to share with those who were less fortunate. Unfortunately, they got suckered into the idea that, rather than give voluntarily on an individual basis, they’d entrust their government to become the distributor of largesse, and to pay for it through taxation. Big mistake. From that point on, all that was necessary was to keep redefining who was disadvantaged and to then provide more free stuff.

Few people were aware that the first sections of fence were being erected. But today, it may be easier to understand that the fence has been completed and the gate is closing. It may still be possible to make a hasty exit, but we shall find very few people dashing for the gate. After all, to expatriate to another country would mean leaving all that free stuff – all that security.

At this point, the idea of foraging in the forest looks doubtful. Those who have forgotten how to rely on themselves will understandably fear making an exit. They’ll not only have to change their dependency habits; they’ll have to think for themselves in future. But make no mistake about it – what we’re witnessing today in what was formerly the Free World is a transition into collectivism. It will be a combination of corporatism and socialism, with the remnants of capitalism. The overall will be collectivism.

The gate is closing, and as stated above, some members of the herd will cause a fuss as they watch the gate closing. There will be some confusion and civil unrest, but in the end, the great majority will settle down once again to their corn. Only a few will have both the insight and temerity necessary to make a dash for the gate as it’s now closing.

This was true in Argentina when the government was still generous with the largesse, and it was true in Venezuela when the entitlements were at their peak. It is now true of the US as the final transition into collectivism begins. Rather than make the dash for the gate, the great majority will instead look down at their feed and say, "This is still the best country in the world," and continue eating the corn."