"The Lines Between Fact and Fiction Are Blurred... Here's Why You Should Question the Narrative"

"The Lines Between Fact and Fiction Are Blurred... 

Here's Why You Should Question the Narrative"

by Chris MacIntosh

"I believe we are at a critical juncture where it is imperative that we do NOT fall for the ruses being put in front of us. They are playing us. Almost everything in our news cycle is questionable. The lines between fact and fiction have become blurred. What our leaders and mainstream media peddle as the truth is often misinformation… and what is really the truth is smeared as misinformation. Furthermore, attention spans have narrowed so significantly that even when the truth is hard to cover up, the populace can be distracted with a barrage of information unrelated to the problematic topic. Who, for example, still asks the question: where is Epstein’s client list? 

In this never ending exhausting stream of "information," the brain tires and the default of emotions rises with logic taking a back door. It’s far easier to be emotional than logical. This plays into the hands of, in particular, our "elites" masquerading their greed as virtue.

Reality has been replaced by false messaging and imagery to such an extent that one cannot distinguish between fact and fiction. And as a result of this, everyone squabbles through the prism of their own confirmation biases and ideological impulses.

We are ruled by a nefarious group of individuals that have an unquenchable thirst for power, control, and money. They don’t care what they have to do to get it - and that includes tricking people into thinking they are the virtuous good guys who are here to keep us all safe. And tragically, millions of people are completely duped by this. What we have witnessed over the COVID response, the war in Ukraine, the Net-Zero agenda on climate change, and many other current issues is a movement of faux virtue that has been carefully crafted by corrupt politicians, messengers within legacy media outlets, greedy corporations, messiah delusional billionaires, and undemocratic technocrats to create the impression that they are the virtuous ones who are our friends.

These people are not our friends. Their primary objective is to hoodwink us into believing and complying to their virtue, but in reality, being tricked into giving away more freedoms, power, wealth, and assets to these virtue vultures.

The reality of all of this is that we are sleepwalking towards the biggest asset grab in the history of the planet. They are trying to destroy farms, land, businesses, freedoms, housing, individual wealth, travel, and own them or sell them off to the highest bidder. And at the same time, they are trying to ring-fence society into the entrapment of being controlled by data - either through health passports or the slow mission creep towards central banking digital currencies (CBDCs). It’s a giant asset grab of what we own and control. Of course, they frame all of this being in our best interests. But make no mistake - it’s the biggest swindle ever.

This gargantuan virtue con-trick also comes with a huge slice of authoritarianism. Anyone who sees through it, questions it, stands up to it, or shows opposition to it are immediately ridiculed and ostracized by the group-think mob.

Question the COVID response? You’re a "Covidiot."
Question the Ukraine war? Bugger off, you Putin apologist, you.
Question the Israeli war on the Palestinians? Anti-Semite!
Question Net-Zero? You must be a far right climate change denier!

This is gutter politics designed to shut down and undermine any opposition or questioning. It works if you allow them to emotionally engage you. Don’t fall for it! But not questioning the narrative is a huge form of denial. Because any government, technocrat, or institution that advocates medical discrimination, suppression of civil liberties and a transfer of wealth and public assets to the rich while the rest of society endures a cost of living crisis is not your friend.

Don’t be fooled by their virtue. It’s a giant con! In reality, they are indulging in a massive asset grab. They are treating the world as feudalism, but under the guise of "it’s for your own good" or "safety" faux virtue. A Machiavellian weapon that power hungry sociopaths use for control.

Fake virtue peddled by governments and authorities for mass compliance and social control is the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook. Don’t fall for it. Because when totalitarianism arrives, it will come cloaked in fake virtue. And now we have not only Venezuela, but Bangladesh, too, and this brings me to US foreign policy, which is a giant Ponzi scheme.

A Ponzi Scheme: Here’s how it works in six steps:

• Buy foreign leaders who are willing to sell out their people and grant cheap resources/labor to the Empire.

• If leaders refuse, sanction them and stoke political discontent, murdering thousands. Use the result of crushing sanctions as "proof" their regimes are bad for their people.

• Fund fascist "revolutions" again and again and again, until a new leader emerges who will sell out their people to the Empire.

• In the meantime, this is funded by taxpayers in the Empire. Additionally, these parasites will take videos and photos of the dying impoverished people who are dying and being impoverished by the actions of these parasites… and beg you for charity to help these unfortunate people.

• Instigate proxy wars when any of the above doesn’t work. These proxy wars cause refugee crises flooding Western countries, which destroys the homogeneity of nation states, making them weaker.

• It is nothing but a hollow, superficial crime gang masquerading as a society that only cares about one thing: perpetually increasing its power and wealth, at the expense of all else."

- https://internationalman.com/

"Trump Walking Back Tariffs Won’t Stop The Coming Stock And Bond Market Collapse"

"Trump Walking Back Tariffs Won’t Stop 

The Coming Stock And Bond Market Collapse"

by Alex

"The illusion of control is slipping. What we’re witnessing isn’t just a market wobble. It’s the prelude to something far more disruptive. As the façade of stability continues to crack, the choices before Washington are narrowing, and none of them lead to a soft landing.

Trump’s decision to pause tariffs for 90 days on April 9 sparked a brief rally. Stocks cheered. Yields didn’t. They kept rising. Stocks dropped the next day as soaring yields stole the spotlight. That detail alone should rattle anyone still clinging to the old rulebook. When both stocks and yields surge, it’s not optimism. It’s a red flag. The bond market is flashing warnings that confidence in U.S. fiscal management is rapidly eroding.

His plan, announced Saturday, to roll back tariffs on high-tech imports from China was framed by some as a step toward de-escalation. But the deeper issue remains. Every retreat in his tariff strategy means less revenue to offset a ballooning deficit. The numbers don’t lie, and the math isn’t working.

If yields continue rising Monday as he rolls back tariffs, it will confirm our worst fears - the market is losing confidence in how America handles its debt. A big rally in stocks, widely anticipated for Monday, could fizzle out fast as the week drags on.

Trump originally claimed his tariff strategy would generate $600 billion a year. Enough to shift the balance sheet of a country hemorrhaging over $2 trillion annually. That promise is now collapsing. Walking back tariffs might buy a rally, but it sells out the long-term fiscal picture. And it’s not just the revenue that’s vanishing. The political capital is, too. He’s simultaneously pushing for more tax cuts while reaffirming that Social Security and Medicare are untouchable. That leaves almost no room to maneuver. Cuts to discretionary spending are a political landmine. Slashing military outlays is unlikely. Balancing the budget is impossible.

And now Congress is making the 2017 tax cuts permanent. Another $3.5 trillion added to the debt over a decade. The cost of political convenience is compounding faster than interest itself.

Foreign creditors see this. They’re not just selling Treasuries because of trade tensions. They’re bailing because the math no longer works. You have a $7 trillion spending plan for fiscal year 2025, with over $1 trillion of that just for interest on the existing debt. Against this stands $5 trillion in tax revenue. Every dollar borrowed is a bet that inflation doesn’t blow up. That bet is increasingly looking like a sucker’s play.

The Federal Reserve, too, is trapped. They cut rates three times late last year to breathe life into the economy. It didn’t work. Yields kept rising anyway. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Markets are signaling that the Fed has lost credibility. Monetary easing is being drowned out by structural deficits and runaway debt issuance.

Trump’s 90-day tariff pause with every country but China gave markets the second-best rally in history. But it also gave the bond market another reason to panic. A sugar rush that ends in a crash. Every walk-back in the trade war weakens the only leverage he had to rein in the deficit without touching sacred entitlements. Now, there’s no stick left. Only carrots and IOUs.

DOGE’s original goal to slash $2 trillion from the deficit has now shrunk to a meager $150 billion in cuts projected for 2026. It’s a rounding error. And yet even with this, projections show that debt growth under Trump 2.0 may still outpace the Biden era. The difference is that Biden didn’t pretend there was a way out. Trump is still pretending.

Foreigners are not stupid. They’re watching U.S. Treasuries lose their cash equivalent status in real time. A 30-year bond yielding 5 percent today could lose 15 percent of its value in just months if the panic accelerates. High yields mean Treasury prices are falling. That means U.S. debt isn’t a safe haven anymore. It’s a trap.

And so we arrive at a moment where Trump can’t cut, can’t spend, can’t tax, and can’t borrow without consequences. The Fed can’t print without igniting more inflation. The fiscal crisis is no longer in the future. It’s here. This is the endgame of decades of kicking the can.

An international bank has now warned of a crisis of confidence in U.S. dollar assets. That’s not a small warning. That’s an alarm bell echoing through the vaults of the global monetary system. If trust goes, so goes everything. The fiat system is naked. The mask has fallen. And the world is watching."

- https://citizenwatchreport.com/

"Typical Moscow Shopping Mall Under Sanctions"

Full screen recommended.

Scottish Guy In Moscow, 4/13/25

"Typical Moscow Shopping Mall Under Sanctions"

"Today we are in Paveletskaya Plaza, my favorite mall. It’s located next to Paveletskaya Metro Station. Its is my favorite mall because it has Lime, my favorite clothing store. Sweet Lavka, the best place for non-Russian snacks. I’ll take you around and show you which shops are still here during sanctions."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Finance Flow, 4/13/25

"15 American Shopping Malls 

That Are Shutting Down Forever"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Doug Casey On Trump’s Tariffs and the Coming Economic Fallout"

"Doug Casey On Trump’s Tariffs 

and the Coming Economic Fallout"

by International Man

"International Man: President Trump recently imposed sweeping tariffs on much of the world, dubbing it Liberation Day. Trump declared: “It will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day we began to make America wealthy again.” What’s your take?

Doug Casey: The left constantly calls Trump a liar. And frankly, things like this are why. It’s not that he lies more than a typical politician, or even lies intentionally. It’s that his use of words is so hyperbolic, so estranged from reality, that it makes him seem like a liar. It’s intellectually dishonest - dishonest, period - to falsely label something. It’s bizarre that Trump thinks his potentially catastrophic tariffs should be called Liberation Day.

The fact is that tariffs are taxes paid by the importer of goods. The money mostly goes out of the pockets of the buyers and, perhaps, to some limited degree, the sellers. It’s 100% certain that tariffs are a tax, and the money goes 100% into the pocket of the State.

Supply chains between countries have become so complex that there are very few items that are - or even could be - manufactured completely within any one country. Production of everything will drop worldwide.

Trump’s tariffs will both increase prices and cause shortages. They don’t, however, cause inflation. Inflation is caused strictly by an increase in the money supply. Tariffs don’t increase the money supply, but they do cause higher prices and a lower standard of living for both the buyer and the seller. Just as bad, as a tax, tariffs result in more dollars in the hands of the State.

The US imports something on the order of $3 trillion annually. Perhaps Trump thinks that a 10% tax will result in $300 billion of revenue for the government, and a 20% tariff will yield $600 billion. But this is incorrect because the higher costs will reduce the amount of trade proportionately. Not only can’t tariffs solve the government’s deficit problem, they’ll make it worse.

He says that the main object of the tariffs is to force investment in the US. And, of course, that may happen to some degree. He’s forgotten that when the US was prosperous before 1971, it never needed foreign investment. But it’s as if we trade Cadillacs to Guatemala in exchange for their bananas. Since they sell more bananas to us than we sell Cadillacs to them, it causes a huge deficit in their favor.

So let’s put a 100% duty on bananas. Problem solved. Guatemalans sell many fewer bananas, but now they can’t afford to buy any Cadillacs at all. Everybody gets hurt - banana producers, Cadillac producers, and most particularly, the people who use those products.

Trumpers will counter: “Well, the tariffs that we threatened to put on Colombian coffee forced their government to accept some refugees.” True, that worked. You can push around a small country, but you can’t push the world around. You can’t even push China around because China is the producer, and the US is the consumer. In the real world, those who produce things are in the driver’s seat, not a country that prints up fiat currency to enable its consumption.

I can’t be sure what Trump is really trying to do. He says things one week, then contradicts himself the next. And he does it constantly. Perhaps he wants to see the whole world go to zero tariffs, but I doubt it. He’s essentially a mercantilist; he seems to believe he can force the whole world to run a trade deficit with the US. He thinks trade is a “win-lose” proposition, and the whole world is “ripping off” the US. He must feel the Guatemalans are ripping off the US on bananas, for sure.

If his object is to get the world to zero tariffs, that would be great. But that’s not his object. And it won’t solve the huge and growing trade deficits that the US has had since about 1980. He might ask himself why the US had huge trade surpluses in the decades before 1980 when, coincidentally, the dollar was very strong. But he won’t. He’s not an introspective guy.

More likely, as the world’s economy declines, burdened by government debt, currency debasement, regulations, and taxes, Trump’s gigantic tariffs will make things much worse. The Smoot-Hawley Tariffs of 1929 made things much worse, causing unemployment both here and abroad. Trump’s tariffs are much higher, and trade is vastly more important than it was in the 1930s. They’re very, very bad news.

International Man: The Trump administration views the dollar as dangerously overvalued, blaming it for America’s deepening economic imbalances. Is weakening the US dollar a path to prosperity?

Doug Casey: This is further proof of Trump’s economic ignorance. Although I hasten to add that whatever he does, it’s almost certainly not as bad as what would’ve happened if Kamala had been elected.

Since 1971, the German mark, which basically was transformed into the Euro, has risen from 25 cents to 1.25 to the dollar and Germany’s trade surplus increased even as their currency quintupled in value. The same thing happened with the Yen, which increased in value from 360 to about 100 to the dollar. So much for “currency manipulation.”

The immediate and direct effect of devaluing your currency is that it reduces prices to foreigners so they can buy more. The profit of manufacturers, therefore, seems to go up. But it’s an illusion since profits only go up in terms of devalued currency.

Every country should want a strong currency. A strong currency allows it to buy foreign technology and raw materials, which it can’t do with a weak currency. A strong currency encourages saving, and the building of capital. A strong currency makes for a stable country, which makes for the confidence you need to invest domestically. It also allows foreign investment on advantageous terms.

A weak currency is not worth saving. It hurts domestic savers, makes capital accumulation difficult, makes the import of foreign tech unaffordable, leads to social instability, and discourages business and investment. A weak currency encourages debt and speculation. Keynesian and Marxist economists have these things completely backward.

Trump says he wants a weak dollar. One reason why is that the US is buried under many trillions of debt, and a weak dollar might appear to help the situation. But it won’t. Trying to inflate it away subtly amounts to theft. If a weak currency led to prosperity, then Zimbabwe and Argentina would be the most prosperous countries in the world.

International Man: What lessons can the US draw from Argentina’s experience with tariffs, protectionism, and a weakened currency?

Doug Casey: It’s well known that Argentina went from being one of the most prosperous and wealthiest countries in the world a hundred years ago, to turning into a total economic disaster with Peronist policies - which prominently included a weak currency and high tariffs.

The Argentine government put on tariffs to protect domestic industries. The result was that domestic industries were able to get away with crappy and overpriced products that were uncompetitive in the world market. Argentines suffered a much lower standard of living for many years as a result of the tariffs put on by their government. They put themselves under embargo with high tariffs, and that’s what Trump is promising to do with the US.

Furthermore, investors tend to stay away from countries where the rules can change arbitrarily, which was a major reason why Argentina got little investment. The same could happen to the US. The US has historically been better than most countries, but Trump’s protectionist and weak dollar policies could change that. Worse, if the economy goes sideways, the Democrats could be re-elected. That’s a scary but real prospect. Hopefully, Trump’s efforts at domestic deregulation will succeed as a counterbalance.

International Man: If Trump truly wanted to revive American industry and boost the economy, what could he actually do?

Doug Casey: Trump would radically and permanently reduce the size of the State. DOGE is great, but you don’t want to just make government more efficient. DOGE needs to pull most of it out by the roots and sow Agent Orange where it grew.

He would radically cut taxes, but that can only be done if he radically cuts spending - which seems unlikely. He would radically cut government borrowing because when the government borrows in the market, it only drives interest rates higher or sells its debt to the Fed, which debases the currency. But since spending is unlikely to be cut - especially as the Greater Depression unfolds - neither will borrowing. A gold currency would kill inflation - but that’s impossible unless gold reprices to $30,000 or more.

He should stop threatening foreigners. Trump has this strange idea that foreigners are ripping off America. Saying and believing things like that only creates antagonism. He’d do well to follow Thomas Jefferson’s dictum - be a friend to all but an ally of none. It doesn’t matter if Israel wants the US to bomb the Houthis and Iran; it’s not in our interest.

Trump has said, “We are going to charge countries for doing business in our country, taking our jobs, wealth, and a lot of things that they have been taking over the years.” It’s just factually untrue and goes a long way toward turning the world into an antagonist or even an enemy.

International Man: The stock market has tanked since Trump introduced his tariffs. What are the investment implications of what comes next?

Doug Casey: Small countries selling to the US can be intimidated and will do as they’re told. But large countries like China will put on counter tariffs. He can expect that the shelves of Walmart and other retailers in the US will be emptied as Chinese goods no longer enter the US.

The funny thing about this is that at the same time as Trump is creating more distortions by putting on tariffs, which always make things worse, DOGE is getting rid of distortions. While DOGE is excellent, it will necessarily hurt businesses that were profiting from those distortions. So businesses can expect bad news coming and going, as it were.

I can’t help but be very pessimistic about the stock market as the Trump regime creates chaos. Some of that chaos is wonderful and intentional, like destroying DEI, ESG, Wokism, and the WEF-approved world order. Other things will be collateral damage. What things? Those are what Donald Rumsfeld - if anyone remembers him - called unknown unknowns. And two things that markets don’t like are chaos and lots of unknown unknowns, which is why I continue holding gold."

- https://internationalman.com/

"Scott Ritter & Larry C. Johnson: Ignore Iran at Your Peril: Bone-Chilling Lessons For Russia & Yemen"

Dialogue Works, 4/12/25

"Scott Ritter & Larry C. Johnson: Ignore Iran at Your Peril: 

Bone-Chilling Lessons For Russia & Yemen"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Jeremiah Babe, "Is The World About To Sell America? This Could Get Ugly"

Jeremiah Babe, 4/12/25

"Is The World About To Sell America? 

This Could Get Ugly"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Sea and Silence"

Deuter, "Sea and Silence"

"A Look to the Heavens"

"Would the Rosette Nebula by any other name look as sweet? The bland New General Catalog designation of NGC 2237 doesn't appear to diminish the appearance of this flowery emission nebula, at the top of the image, atop a long stem of glowing hydrogen gas. Inside the nebula lies an open cluster of bright young stars designated NGC 2244.

These stars formed about four million years ago from the nebular material and their stellar winds are clearing a hole in the nebula's center, insulated by a layer of dust and hot gas. Ultraviolet light from the hot cluster stars causes the surrounding nebula to glow. The Rosette Nebula spans about 100 light-years across, lies about 5000 light-years away, and can be seen with a small telescope towards the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros)."

- https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210214.html

Bertrand Russell, “Three Passions”

“Three Passions”

”Three passions have governed my life:

The longings for love, the search for knowledge,

And unbearable pity for the suffering of humankind.

Love brings ecstasy and relieves loneliness.

In the union of love I have seen

In a mystic miniature the prefiguring vision

Of the heavens that saints and poets have imagined.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge.

I have wished to understand the hearts of people.

I have wished to know why the stars shine.

Love and knowledge led upwards to the heavens,

But always pity brought me back to earth;

Cries of pain reverberated in my heart,

Of children in famine, of victims tortured,

And of old people left helpless.

I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot,

And I too suffer.

This has been my life; I found it worth living.”

- Bertrand Russell

"The Plain Truth...:

“The plain truth is we are going to die. Here I am, a teeny spec surrounded by boundless space and time, arguing with the whole of creation, shaking my fist, sputtering, growing even eloquent at times, and then - poof! I am gone. Swept off once and for all. I think that is very, very funny.” 

 - Charles Simic

"Moscow Typical Brand New Apartment: Could You Live There?"

Full screen recommended.

Travelling With Russell, 4/12/25

"Moscow Typical Brand New Apartment: 

Could You Live There?"

"What does a Russian typical apartment look like in Moscow, Russia.? This 32-square-meter apartment is situated only 11km from the centre of Moscow. The apartment building is brand new, could you live there?

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Meanwhile, in a sane civilized society...

Full screen recommended.

"Moscow, Russia By Drone"

"Israel is About to Empty Gaza"

"Israel is About to Empty Gaza"

The Israeli government, backed by the Trump administration, is laying 

the groundwork for the full expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, 

a move that has the potential to ignite a regional conflagration.

by Chris Hedges

"Israel is poised to carry out the largest campaign of ethnic cleansing since the end of World War II. Since March 2, it has blocked all food and humanitarian aid into Gaza and cut off electricity, so that the last water desalination plant no longer functions. The Israeli military has seized half of the territory - Gaza is 25 miles long and four to five miles wide - and placed two-thirds of Gaza under displacement orders, rendered “no-go zones,” including the border town of Rafah, which is encircled by Israeli troops.

On Friday Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel will “intensify” the war against Hamas and use “all military and civilian pressure, including evacuation of the Gaza population south and implementing United States President [Donald] Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents.”

Since Israel’s unilateral ending of the ceasefire on March 18 - which was never honored by Israel — Israel has been carrying out relentless bombing and shelling against civilians, killing over 1,400 Palestinians and wounding over 3,600, according to the Palestinian health ministry. An average of one hundred children are being killed daily according to the United Nations. Israel is, at the same time, inciting tensions with Egypt to lay what I suspect will be the groundwork for a mass expulsion of Palestinians into the Egyptian Sinai.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, echoing Katz, said Israel would not lift the total blockade until Hamas was “defeated” and the remaining 59 Israeli hostages were released. “Not even a grain of wheat will enter Gaza,” he vowed. But no one in Israel or Gaza expects Hamas, which has weathered the decimation of Gaza and sustained mass slaughter, to surrender or disappear.

The question no longer is will the Palestinians be deported from Gaza but when they will be pushed out and where they will go. The Israeli leadership is apparently torn between driving Palestinians over the border into Egypt or shipping them to countries in Africa. The U.S. and Israel have contacted three East African governments – Sudan, Somalia and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland – to discuss the resettlement of ethnically cleansed Palestinians.

The consequences of wholesale ethnic cleansing will be catastrophic, jeopardizing the stability of the Arab regimes allied with Washington and setting off firestorms of protests within Arab countries. It will likely mean the severing of diplomatic relations between Israel and its neighbors Jordan and Egypt, already close to the breaking point, and push the region closer to war.

Diplomatic relations have fallen to their lowest point since the signing of the Camp David Accords in 1979. The Israeli embassies in Cairo and Amman are largely empty with Israeli staff withdrawn over security concerns following the Oct. 7 incursion into Israel by Hamas and other armed Palestinian factions. Egypt has refused to accept the credentials of Uri Rothman, who was appointed to be the Israeli ambassador last September. Egypt did not name a new ambassador to Israel when former ambassador, Khaled Azmi, was recalled last year.

Israeli officials are accusing Egypt of violating the Camp David accords by increasing its military presence and building new military installations in the Northern Sinai, charges Egypt says are fabricated. The peace treaty’s annex permits additional Egyptian military hardware in the Sinai. Former Israeli chief of the general staff, Herzi Halevi, warned of what he calls Egypt’s “security threat.” Katz said that Israel would not allow Egypt to “violate the peace treaty” between the two countries signed in 1979.

Egyptian officials note that it is Israel that has violated the treaty by occupying the Philadelphi Corridor, also known as the Salahuddin Axis, which runs along the nine mile border between Gaza and Egypt and is supposed to be demilitarized. “Every Israeli action along Gaza’s border with Egypt constitutes hostile behavior against Egypt’s national security,” Egyptian General Mohammed Rashad, a former military intelligence chief, told the Arabic language newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat. “Egypt cannot sit idly by in the face of such threats and must prepare for all possible scenarios.”

Israeli officials are openly calling for the “voluntary transfer” of Palestinians to Egypt. Knesset member, Avigdor Lieberman, stated that “displacing most Palestinians from Gaza to the Egyptian Sinai is a practical and effective solution.” He contrasted the high population density — Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet - with the vast “untapped lands” in the Egyptian Northern Sinai and noted that Palestinians share a common culture and language with Egypt, making any deportation “natural.” He also criticized Egypt because it allegedly “benefits economically from the current political situation,” as a mediator between Israel and Hamas and “reaps profits from smuggling operations through the tunnels and the Rafah crossing.”

The Israeli think tank Misgav Institute for National Security, staffed by former Israeli military and security officials, published a paper on Oct. 17, 2023, calling on the government to take advantage of the “unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the entire Gaza Strip,” and resettle Palestinians in Cairo with the assistance of the Egyptian government. A leaked document from the Israeli Intelligence Ministry proposed resettling Palestinians from Gaza to the Northern Sinai and constructing barriers and buffer zones to prevent their return.

Any expulsion would likely happen swiftly with Israeli forces, which are already mercilessly herding Palestinians into containment areas in Gaza, carrying out a sustained bombing campaign against the trapped Palestinians while creating porous evacuation portals along the border with Egypt. It would entail a potentially lethal standoff with the Egyptian military, instantly throwing the Egyptian regime of Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who has described any ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in Gaza as a “red line,” into crisis. It would be a short step from there to a regional conflict.

Israel has seized territory in Syria and southern Lebanon, part of its vision of “Greater Israel,” which includes occupying land in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It covets the maritime gas fields off Gaza’s coast and has floated plans for a new canal to bypass the Suez Canal, to connect Israel’s bankrupt Eilat Port on the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. These projects require emptying Gaza of Palestinians and populating it with Jewish colonists.

The anger on the Arab street - an anger I witnessed over the past few months during visits to Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank and Qatar - will explode in a justifiable fury if mass deportation takes place. These regimes, simply to hold on to power, will be forced to act. Terrorist attacks, whether by organized groups or lone wolves, will proliferate against Israeli and western targets, especially the United States.

The genocide is a recruitment dream for Islamic militants. Washington and Israel must, on some level, understand the cost of this savagery. But it appears as though they accept it, foolishly trying to obliterate those they have cast out of the community of nations, those they refer to as “human animals.”

What do Israel and Washington believe will happen when the Palestinians are expelled from a land they have lived in for centuries? How do they think a people who are desperate, deprived of hope, dignity and a way to make a living, who are being butchered by one of the most technologically advanced armies on the planet, will respond? Do they think creating a Danteesque hell for the Palestinians will blunt terrorism, curb suicide attacks and foster peace? Can they not grasp the rage rippling through the Middle East and how it will implant a hatred towards us that will endure for decades?

The genocide in Gaza is the greatest crime of this century. It will come back to haunt Israel. It will come back to haunt us. It will usher to our doorsteps the evil we have perpetrated on the Palestinians. You reap what you sow. We have sown a minefield of hatred and violence."

- https://chrishedges.substack.com/

"All Palestinian Prisoners To Be

 Executed And Shot In The Head"

"The Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir, says he plans to introduce legislation in the Knesset which reads: "All Palestinian prisoners to be executed and shot in the head." – The Minister of National Security of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir

Watch this monster say it himself!

June 30,2024:

- https://twitter.com/Megatron_ron/status/1807385593506103757

"Israel is Evil personified. Israel is Evil embodied."

- Scott Ritter

OMG... God damn these psychopathically degenerate genocidal monsters to Hell! And YOU, Americans, paid for it all, every bullet, every bomb, every tank, everything, billions and billions of dollars! All that blood's on YOUR hands too! 60,000 innocent and unarmed men, women and 19,000 CHILDREN slaughtered, with another 10,000 buried under the rubble and unrecovered. And these ZioNazi creatures from Hell call the Palestinians "human animals?!" Eternal shame and disgrace on us all! Stipendium peccati mors est, Israel, and it's coming...

The Daily "Near You?"

Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"Sometimes..."

"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Lady In Red Coffee Hour"

"Lady In Red Coffee Hour"

Now and then, very rarely, you stumble upon something simply extraordinary, something that's just so astonishingly beautiful and well done it's unbelievable. This is one of those times... Savor the magic...scroll through the many musical images with sound on. No sign in required.

- https://www.facebook.com/

Look at these astonishing images, turn sound on...

- https://www.facebook.com/

- https://www.facebook.com/

- https://www.facebook.com/

"What The World Needs Now"

"In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. You can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization and filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love. What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black."

- Robert F. Kennedy, on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Full screen recommended.

"What The World Needs Now"

by Tom Clay

"Detroit DJ brought this out early in 1973 and it was seen as

a celebration of the message behind that spread

by John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy."

"How It Really Is"

 

"I Can Choose..."

“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.”

- Walter Anderson

"What's He To Do Then?"

"You've seed how things goes in the world o' men. You've knowed men to be low-down and mean. You've seed ol' Death at his tricks... Ever' man wants life to be a fine thing, and a easy. 'Tis fine, boy, powerful fine, but 'tain't easy. Life knocks a man down and he gits up and it knocks him down agin. I've been uneasy all my life... I've wanted life to be easy for you. Easier'n 'twas for me. A man's heart aches, seein' his young uns face the world. Knowin' they got to get their guts tore out, the way his was tore. I wanted to spare you, long as I could. I wanted you to frolic with your yearlin'. I knowed the lonesomeness he eased for you. But ever' man's lonesome. What's he to do then? What's he to do when he gits knocked down? Why, take it for his share and go on.”

- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

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"When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' 

I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'"

- Sydney J. Harris

"A Wave Of Panic Buying Has Suddenly Erupted At Retailers All Over America"

"A Wave Of Panic Buying Has Suddenly

Erupted At Retailers All Over America"

by Michael Snyder

"Do you remember the panic buying that we witnessed during the early days of the pandemic? It’s back, and I have a feeling that it is only going to intensify in the days ahead. As more Americans begin to realize that products made in China will soon more than double in price and that some may no longer be available at all, there will be a feverish rush to purchase Chinese-made goods. Ironically, this may actually give a short-term boost to the U.S. economy, and the economic numbers for the first half of this year may end up looking better than they otherwise would have.

Before I get too deep into this article, there are a couple of things that I want to clarify. First of all, I do not think that the U.S. should have ever begun trading with communist China at all, because communist China has always been an incredibly evil regime. Secondly, it was a catastrophic error for the U.S. to become so deeply dependent on imports from China. This is something that I have been writing about for years. Our stores are now teeming with products that were made in China, and thousands of our supply chains simply cannot function without equipment, parts or products that come from China.

But our leaders refused to listen to those of us that were sounding the alarm, and now we have a real mess on our hands. Because we have become so deeply dependent on China, the trade war that has now begun is really going to hurt, and everyone should be able to see that.

On Thursday, the White House confirmed that the total tariff rate on Chinese imports has now risen to 145 percent…"The U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports now effectively totals 145%, a White House official confirmed to CNBC. Trump’s latest executive order hikes tariffs on Beijing to 125% from 84%. But that comes on top of a 20% fentanyl-related tariff that Trump previously imposed on China."

One economist is warning that high tariff rates on both sides will lead to “a hard decoupling”, and he says that it would be “really hard to overstate the expected shocks this is going to have”…“This is probably the strongest indication we’ve seen pushing towards a hard decoupling,” said Nick Marro, principal economist for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit, referring to an outcome where the two economies have virtually no trade or mutual investment. “It’s really hard to overstate the expected shocks this is going to have, not just to the Chinese economy itself, but also to the entire global trading landscape,” as well as on the US, he said."

I fully agree with his assessment. What we are witnessing is going to cause a tremendous amount of disruption. Apparently lots of other people see things the same way, because a wave of panic buying has now started…"Across the country, people have been rushing to stores or going online to buy everything from iPhones to coffee to designer bags and jewelry in anticipation of the toll the tariffs will take on their wallets."

If there is something that is made in China that you really need, I would get it now while you still can. One woman that just visited her local Costco said that she has “never seen it so busy”…"Costco was a total nightmare yesterday. I’ve never seen it so busy. I walked out after seeing the lines going down each aisle with no end in sight."

Another woman that lives in New York City admitted to a reporter that her mother is literally “panicking”…“Actually, I already have. I’ve already started stocking up. My mother has a whole stockpile, and she’s panicking. But I told her we’re going to be okay, as we live in New York City,” said Amelia Guilford, a retail worker who was visiting her mother in the city."

The price hikes that we will soon see will be quite a shock to the system, and this will particularly be true for big ticket items. For example, it is being projected that the cost to manufacture an iPhone could go up by hundreds of dollars…"Trump’s new tariffs on Chinese goods mean the cost for Apple to manufacture an iPhone could jump from $580 to $850, according to a report from TechInsights."

In anticipation of the coming price hikes, there was a “full-blown buying spree” at Apple stores over the weekend…"Apple just faced a weekend retail frenzy more typical of iPhone launch day than early April. With the Trump administration floating a 54% tariff on Chinese-made goods including Apple’s flagship devices U.S. consumers rushed into stores, fearing sharp price hikes were imminent. According to reports from multiple locations, sales surged as worried buyers sought to lock in current prices, turning what’s usually a quiet season into a full-blown buying spree."

Many of the parts that go into our new vehicles also come from China, and it is being reported that U.S. auto sales were quite a bit higher than expected last month as people rushed to purchase new vehicles before the tariffs were implemented…"US auto sales for March came in higher than Deutsche Bank analysts expected, the bank said in a Friday report, rising from February levels. That might indicate “panic buying” as Americans sought to get ahead of the tariffs on foreign-made vehicles that took effect last week.

The analysts said they had expected higher numbers due to a pre-tariff pull-forward. But “this impact appears far greater than we anticipated,” the report read. Deutsche Bank expected auto sales to be strong through June, then weaken in the back half of the year."

Unless the U.S. and China can reach some sort of an agreement, and that appears very unlikely at this stage, our standard of living is about to change dramatically.

According to CNBC, approximately 70 percent of the goods sold on Amazon come from China…"Many sellers on Amazon count on China for manufacturing and assembly due to lower costs and established infrastructure – up to 70% of goods on Amazon come from China, according to Wedbush Securities. With nearly all imports from China being taxed a staggering 145% under the latest tariffs, Amazon sellers are having to decide whether to raise prices or absorb the vastly increased cost of importing their goods.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on Thursday told CNBC that its vast network of third-party sellers will likely “pass the cost on” to consumers. He added that Amazon has done some “strategic forward inventory buys” and looked to renegotiate terms on some purchase orders to keep prices low."

Reuters spoke to five Amazon sellers in China. Three of them said that they would be raising prices, and two of them said that they would be leaving the U.S. market completely…"Of the five sellers who spoke to Reuters, three said they would look to raise prices for their exports to the U.S., while two planned to leave the market entirely. Dave Fong, whose products range from schoolbags to Bluetooth speakers, said on Thursday he has raised prices in the U.S. by up to 30% and would let inventory levels fall and lower spending on Amazon advertising fees, which once took up 40% of his U.S. revenue. “For us and anyone else, you can’t rely on the U.S. market, that’s quite clear,” Fong said. “We have to reduce investment, and put more resources into regions like Europe, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the world.”

If this trade war persists, it will be an even bigger economic shock than the pandemic was. But to me, there is potentially an even bigger concern. The threat of economic sanctions has always been one of the barriers that has made China think twice about invading Taiwan. But now that our two economies are rapidly decoupling anyway, the Chinese may come to the conclusion that this is actually a perfect time to make a move on Taiwan. This crisis with China is a far bigger deal than most people realize, and it could have some very serious unintended consequences."

- https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Shopping The Snacks At Sam's Club"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 4/12/25

"Shopping The Snacks At Sam's Club"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Mass Layoffs, Empty Offices, and Car Sales Collapse - It’s All Falling Apart"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 4/12/25

"Mass Layoffs, Empty Offices, and 

Car Sales Collapse - It’s All Falling Apart"

"Is the U.S. economy really on the edge of collapse? In today’s video, I’m diving into why people are more worried now than ever. From the shaky state of commercial real estate with office buildings selling at massive discounts to skyrocketing bankruptcies among major corporations, we’re breaking it all down. Plus, we’re talking about tariffs, their impact on stores like Five Below, and how consumer sentiment is at an all-time low. Let’s not forget the insane predictions about car sales and why gold and silver could be the safest bets right now. If you’re wondering how to navigate these uncertain times, I’m sharing tips on financial planning, making smart purchases, and even how to start a business in this economic downturn. Trust me, there’s hope - if you’re ready to act!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

o

Full screen recommended.

Market Gains, AM 4/12/25

"Amazon Fires 50,000 Workers 

As Tech Companies Collapse"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Alert! Iran War TBD In 24 Hours! No More Ships From China! UK Troops Into West Ukraine!"

Canadian Prepper, 4/11/25

"Alert! Iran War TBD In 24 Hours! 

No More Ships From China! UK Troops Into West Ukraine!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"You Should Be Very Worried As Markets Party And A Bond Crisis Lurks In The Shadows"

Jeremiah Babe, 4/11/25

"You Should Be Very Worried As Markets Party 

And A Bond Crisis Lurks In The Shadows"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"I’m 40 Years Old and My Parents Still Pay My Bills"

Full screen recommended.

Michael Bordenaro, 4/11/25

"I’m 40 Years Old and My Parents Still Pay My Bills"

"About 47% of parents right now are paying their adult children's bills things like their health insurance their cell phone their rent their food cost pretty much everything that people need and cost a good amount of money. And the worst part is they are putting off and even foregoing their own retirement savings in order to subsidize their kids lifestyle. This is a bad thing for both parents and children and will have devastating effects for decades to come. Do you think we have a bad economy now? Just wait until we have a bunch of 50 or 60-year-olds that don't know how to support themselves."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "I Can’t Afford My Home"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 4/11/25

"I Can’t Afford My Home"

"Homeownership is quickly becoming an impossible dream for so many, and today we’re breaking down why this is happening. From skyrocketing property taxes and insurance rates to maintenance costs and the rising value of renting, it’s clear the current housing market is pushing people to their limits. I'll also dive into shocking examples like Missouri's storm damage crisis, California's insane real estate taxes, and the struggles with insurance companies and utility costs. It’s no wonder many are opting out of buying altogether. On top of that, we’re seeing banks release inventory slowly, but experts predict a decline in real estate prices. Is this the correction we’ve been waiting for, or just more chaos? Let me know your thoughts—can YOU still afford to own a home?"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: Neil H, "Mystic Journey"

Neil H, "Mystic Journey"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“This pretty, open cluster of stars, M34, is about the size of the Full Moon on the sky. Easy to appreciate in small telescopes, it lies some 1,800 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. At that distance, M34 physically spans about 15 light-years. Formed at the same time from the same cloud of dust and gas, all the stars of M34 are about 200 million years young.

But like any open star cluster orbiting in the plane of our galaxy, M34 will eventually disperse as it experiences gravitational tides and encounters with the Milky Way's interstellar clouds and other stars. Over four billion years ago, our own Sun was likely formed in a similar open star cluster.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100211.html