Musical Interlude: Deuter, "Endless Horizon"

Full screen recommended. 

Deuter, "Endless Horizon"

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"I cannot paint

What then I was. The sounding cataract

Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,

The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,

Their colors and their forms, were then to me

An appetite; a feeling and a love,

That had no need of a remoter charm,

By thought supplied, not any interest

Unborrowed from the eye.

That time is past,

And all its aching joys are now no more,

And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this

Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur: other gifts

Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,

Abundant recompense.

For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes

The still, sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue."

- William Wordsworth,

"Lines Written A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"

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“Some feelings sink so deep into the heart that

only loneliness can help you find them again.

Some truths are so painful that only shame can help you live with them.

Some things are so sad that only your soul can do the crying for them.”

- Gregory David Roberts, "Shantaram"

Musical Interlude: Elton John, "Your Starter For"

Elton John, "Your Starter For"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“Will our Sun look like this one day? The Helix Nebula is one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula, a gas cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The outer gasses of the star expelled into space appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a helix. The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce.

The Helix Nebula, given a technical designation of NGC 7293, lies about 700 light-years away towards the constellation of the Water Bearer (Aquarius) and spans about 2.5 light-years. The above picture was taken three colors on infrared light by the 4.1-meter Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. A close-up of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows complex gas knots of unknown origin.”

- http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120131.html

"Relax..."

"Relax. They're not going to kill us. They're going to

TRY and kill us. And that is a very different thing."

 - Steve Voake, "The Dreamwalker's Child"

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"You cannot kill me here. Bring your soldiers, your death, your disease, your collapsed economy because it doesn't matter, I have nothing left to lose and you cannot kill me here. Bring the tears of orphans and the wails of a mother's loss, bring your Jesus on a cross, bring your hate and bitterness and long working hours, bring your empty wallets and love long since gone but you cannot kill me here. Bring your sneers, your snide remarks and friendships never felt, your letters never sent, your kisses never kissed, cigarettes smoked to the bone and cancer killing fears but you cannot kill me here. For I may fall and I may fail but I will stand again each time and you will find no satisfaction. Because you cannot kill me here."

- Iain S. Thomas

"Our Dilemma..."

"Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time;

what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better."

- Sydney J. Harris

The Poet: Czeslaw Milosz, “Hope”

“Hope”

“Hope is with you when you believe

The earth is not a dream but living flesh,

That sight, touch, and hearing do not lie,

That all things you have ever seen here

Are like a garden looked at from a gate.

You cannot enter. But you’re sure it’s there.

Could we but look more clearly and wisely

We might discover somewhere in the garden

A strange new flower and an unnamed star.

Some people say we should not trust our eyes,

That there is nothing, just a seeming,

These are the ones who have no hope.

They think that the moment we turn away,

The world, behind our backs, ceases to exist,

As if snatched up by the hands of thieves.”

- Czeslaw Milosz,

“Hope”, from “The World”

"Get Your Stuff Together..."

“We all got problems. But there’s a great book out called “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart.” Did you see that? That book says the statute of limitations has expired on all childhood traumas. Get your stuff together and get on with your life, man. Stop whinin’ about what’s wrong, because everybody’s had a rough time, in one way or another.”

- Quincy Jones

The Daily "Near You?"

Jackson, Tennessee, USA. Thanks for stopping by!

"You Can Be Sure..."

 

Gerald Celente, "The Time Is Right For A True America Party Of We The People, Abolish The Political Crime Syndicate"

Strong language alert!

Gerald Celente, 7/8/25

"The Time Is Right For A True America Party Of We The People,

Abolish The Political Crime Syndicate"

"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 the people prepare for what’s next in these increasingly turbulent times."

- https://trendsjournal.com/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"There Comes A Time..."

"I make no bones about being partisan for my country. I also feel no shame whatever because of it. I absolutely disagree that "great thinkers don't let that affect the thoughts". I would say exactly the opposite: someone who refuses to let love-of-country affect their thoughts is a moral cripple irrespective of their intellectual prowess. I can look dispassionately at the situation, and I have done so repeatedly. But I will never forget which nation I love and support.

We Americans have a saying: “It’s more important what you stand for than who you stand with.” I do not rely upon peer opinion to decide what is right and what is wrong. I make those decisions for myself, and even if I discover that every other human alive chose differently, that doesn’t mean I was wrong.

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to choose sides. I have chosen my side. I am comfortable with my decision. I do not think everyone on my side is a saint, but I know that those on the other side are much, much worse.

Sometimes a man with too broad a perspective reveals himself as having no real perspective at all. A man who tries too hard to see every side may be a man who is trying to avoid choosing any side. A man who tries too hard to seek a deeper truth may be trying to hide from the truth he already knows. That is not a sign of intellectual sophistication and “great thinking”. It is a demonstration of moral degeneracy and cowardice.”

- Steven Den Beste

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“Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and unexcusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.”

- Mark Twain

"How Iran Sank the US Navy in a $250 Million War Game"

"How Iran Sank the US Navy in a $250 Million War Game"

by Nick Giambruno

"Millennium Challenge 2002 was the largest and most expensive war game in Pentagon history, with a staggering price tag of $250 million. It took over two years to design and involved more than 13,500 participants. The goal was clear: showcase how easily the US military could defeat Iran in a hypothetical conflict.

Commanding the Iranian forces in the simulation was Paul Van Riper, a retired three-star general and 41-year Marine Corps veteran. His task was to go head-to-head with the full might of the US military, including an aircraft carrier battle group and a large amphibious assault force positioned in the Persian Gulf. But what happened next shocked everyone.

Van Riper waited until the US Navy passed through the narrow, shallow Strait of Hormuz - turning them into easy targets for Iran’s unconventional tactics. Using swarms of explosive-laden suicide speedboats, low-flying aircraft with anti-ship missiles, naval mines, and land-based ballistic missiles, Van Riper deployed low-cost but highly effective weapons of asymmetric warfare. In just minutes, he overwhelmed the superior US force and sank all 19 ships. Had this been a real conflict, an estimated 20,000 US sailors and Marines would have died.

The outcome was a disaster for the Pentagon. After spending a quarter of a billion dollars, the war game had demonstrated the exact opposite of what they’d hoped. So, what did the Pentagon do? Like a frustrated gamer, they hit the reset button. They rewrote the rules mid-game, scripting the exercise to ensure a guaranteed US victory. The result was no longer a realistic simulation - it became a stage-managed performance. After realizing the integrity of the war game had been compromised, a disgusted Van Riper walked out. He later said: “Nothing was learned from this. And a culture not willing to think hard and test itself does not augur well for the future.”

The main takeaway from Millennium Challenge 2002 is chilling: aircraft carriers - the most expensive ships ever built - might not survive even a single day in combat against Iran. Against powers like Russia or China, their chances are even worse. They’re oversized, overpriced liabilities. That means the US has potentially wasted trillions on military hardware that may prove useless in a real war. Yet, the US continues to parade aircraft carriers across the globe in shows of force - an intimidation strategy that could backfire catastrophically if an adversary decides to call the bluff.

Though the simulation took place over 20 years ago, its lessons are more relevant than ever. Iran has since advanced its asymmetric warfare capabilities dramatically. There's little reason to believe the US military would fare much better today than it did in 2002. In fact, a full-scale war with Iran today could be even more disastrous.

Tensions in the Middle East are at their highest point in a generation - and they’re still rising. The recent Israel-Iran war resolved nothing. If hostilities resume, the US could be dragged into a catastrophic, full-scale war. In other words, the Middle East teeters on the brink of the largest regional war in decades, and the US is on the precipice of its biggest war since Vietnam. But this time, the consequences won’t just be military.

A full-scale war with Iran could send oil prices soaring overnight, trigger cascading supply chain failures, crash global markets, and spark a financial panic unlike anything in modern history. It could serve as the catalyst that topples an already fragile US economy - and triggers the Great Monetary Reset. If war breaks out, the financial fallout could be immediate and irreversible."

- https://internationalman.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

"Meaningful Warnings..."

“There are meaningful warnings which history gives a threatened or perishing society. Such are, for instance, the decadence of art, or a lack of great statesmen. There are open and evident warnings, too. The center of your democracy and of your culture is left without electric power for a few hours only, and all of a sudden crowds of American citizens start looting and creating havoc. The smooth surface film must be very thin, then, the social system quite unstable and unhealthy. But the fight for our planet, physical and spiritual, a fight of cosmic proportions, is not a vague matter of the future; it has already started. The forces of Evil have begun their offensive; you can feel their pressure, and yet your screens and publications are full of prescribed smiles and raised glasses. What is the joy about?”

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Gregory Mannarino, "An Economic 'Doom-Loop', And We Are In It"

Gregory Mannarino, AM 7/8/25

"An Economic 'Doom-Loop', And We Are In It"

- https://traderschoice.net/

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Outrageous Price Increases At Walmart!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 7/8/25

"Outrageous Price Increases At Walmart!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Dan, I Allegedly, "Trouble is Coming! The Fines are In the Mail"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, 7/8/25

"Trouble is Coming! The Fines are In the Mail"

"Drones are watching, and the $20,000 fireworks fine is just the beginning! In this video, I talk about how Sacramento County is using drones to enforce social host ordinances and send out massive fines for illegal fireworks. Whether it's $1,000 for a first offense or a staggering $20,000 for repeat violations, this is Big Brother in action, and it’s happening now. Plus, I’ll share insights on AI’s growing impact on jobs, housing restrictions, and even the challenges landlords face today. There's so much happening around us, and I'm breaking it all down."

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Bill Bonner, "The Curious Case of Fake GDP"

"Beer Barrel Polka, Roll Out the Barrel" (1927)

"The Curious Case of Fake GDP"

by Bill Bonner

“Roll out the (pork) barrel

And we’ll have a barrel of fun.”

Youghal, Ireland - "What we know so far...The feds can’t really deliver real growth. All they can do is get out of the way so people can pursue happiness on their own. But getting out of the way is not a very attractive choice to the ruling class. It’s not on the agenda of either party. Not at this stage of democratic degeneration. Instead, they want to tax, spend, and regulate...

Here’s the latest. Bloomberg this morning: "Trump Threatens New Tariff Rates on Key Partners, Keeps Talks Open." "President Donald Trump unveiled a wave of letters again threatening key trading partners with high tariff rates even as he delayed the increased duties until Aug. 1 and suggested that he was still open to negotiations."

Letters! How civilized. And they are ‘sealed with a diss,’ says Bloomberg columnist John Authers. All economies rely on trade - between people, businesses, cities, and countries. Anything the feds do - including the ‘tariff tax’ - to make trade most costly reduces real wealth.

And yesterday, we saw that the feds can also stymie growth by cutting off the supply of labor. American women don’t produce enough babies even to keep the workforce stable. Without large-scale immigration high growth rates are almost impossible. (Over the weekend, Dan showed what kind of growth rates you would need to keep up with debt increases.)

Without substantial immigration, the only way to ‘growth’ is via homegrown productivity. But productivity increases require real capital invested in private business...and the feds are now absorbing almost all America’s savings.

So, as you see, almost all the current initiatives of the US government are anti-real growth. But while the feds can’t produce real growth, they can inspire plenty of fake growth, by rolling out the pork barrel - ‘printing’ more money...spending more...and depressing interest rates. This fake growth produces high asset prices, increased sales and profits, and raises debt levels. It distorts the economy...uses up precious time and resources (capital!)...and actually makes us poorer.

It was ‘growth’ - both real and phony - that got us to where we are.. It raised US GDP to $28 trillion...and the Dow to 44,000. It increased US government debt to $37 trillion...and total US credit market debt to $103 trillion. How much is real? How much is funny money? How much will go away in the inevitable reckoning?

GDP is up from only $300 billion in 1950 to the aforementioned $28 trillion today - a 90x increase. (We use very round numbers...using more specific numbers would only give the illusion of precision.) Does that mean we are 90 times richer? Nope. The population has increased too. To figure out if we’re better off, we need to adjust the numbers to per-capita GDP, which show a 40-times increase. Does that mean we are each 40-times richer?

No again! Because much of that is based on inflated numbers. Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ figures, which show that the dollar has lost about 93% of its value since 1950, we find that we are still ahead of the game...with about a 200% real gain in GDP/capita.

But even that does not seem to square with the evidence of our own lives. The cost of the basic elements of our lives - food, clothing, housing, transportation, education and medical care - seem far in excess of the BLS estimates. Instead of getting three times as much ‘stuff’ for our time on the job (as GDP/capita would imply) we actually get less.

A Ford F-series pickup - the workingman’s wheels - cost $1,390 in 1950. Adjusting to official inflation figures suggests a price today of about $17,000. Instead, the cheapest F-150 you are likely to find will be about $40,000. Yes, it is a better truck. Thanks to tech improvements. But new materials and new tools should have made them cheaper to build, too.

So rather than rely on BLS figures, let’s look at it in terms of gold. US GDP has risen 90 times since 1950. But the price of gold is up 82 times. In other words, in gold terms, US output - including the phony output - has scarcely increased over the last 70 years. And in terms of GDP per person - up 40 times since 1950 - it has actually fallen in half.

But it took 33 ounces of gold to buy an F-100 pickup in 1950. Today, it takes only 13 ounces. In other words, the real economy – measured in gold – cut the price of a pickup truck in half. But the fake economy made them twice as expensive. Where does that leave us? We’re not sure...but we’ll stick with gold until we figure it out. More to come..."

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

"Alert! Trump Will 'Arm Ukraine!' Iran Prepares For Total War"

Full screen recommended.

Prepper news, 7/7/25

"Alert! Trump Will 'Arm Ukraine!' 

Iran Prepares For Total War"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Walmart Can't Hide This Anymore"

Adventures With Danno, 7/7/25

"Walmart Can't Hide This Anymore"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"I Just Bought Alabama Alcatraz, You Have To Do What You Can"

Jeremiah Babe, 7/7/25

"I Just Bought Alabama Alcatraz, 

You Have To Do What You Can"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Musical Interlude: 2002, "River Of Stars"

Full screen recommended.

2002, "River Of Stars"

"A Look to the Heavens"

“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.”

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

The Poet: W. H. Auden, “The More Loving One”

“The More Loving One”

“Looking up at the stars, I know quite well

That, for all they care, I can go to hell,

But on earth indifference is the least

We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn

With a passion for us we could not return?

If equal affection cannot be,

Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am

Of stars that do not give a damn,

I cannot, now I see them, say

I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,

I should learn to look at an empty sky

And feel its total dark sublime,

Though this might take me a little time.”

- W. H. Auden

"In Human Society..."

"When a bull is being lead to the slaughter, it still hopes to break loose and trample its butchers. Other bulls have not been able to pass on the knowledge that this never happens and that from the slaughterhouse there is no way back to the herd. But in human society there is a continuous exchange of experience. I have never heard of a man who broke away and fled while being led to his execution. It is even thought to be a special form of courage if a man about to be executed refuses to be blindfolded and dies with his eyes open. But I would rather have the bull with his blind rage, the stubborn beast who doesn't weigh his chances of survival with the prudent dull-wittedness of man, and doesn't know the despicable feeling of despair."

- Nadezhda Mandelstam

"The War Prayer"

"The War Prayer"

By TDB

"My curmudgeonly grandpappy, who reveres Mark Twain and George Carlin and H.L. Mencken and people of that lovable cynic variety – or however you would characterize their philosophical disposition – put me onto "The War Prayer" back in the day. This was in the days of innocence before 9/11 and the subsequent War of Terror, and so whatever lack of an impression it made on me at the time was remedied shortly thereafter by apropos events in the real world.

Twain, in his later years when his family had died and the cynicism became more malignant, would often write fiction in which a cynical protagonist would serve as a proxy for himself. This is one such story; the “aged stranger” is Twain. Via Virginia Commonwealth University:

"It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism… on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun… nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. 

Sunday morning came - next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams - visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said …

Then came the “long” prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work…

An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness… he ascended to the preacher’s side and stood there waiting. 

The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside - which the startled minister did - and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said: “I come from the Throne - bearing a message from Almighty God! 

God’s servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two - one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this - keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor’s crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.

You have heard your servant’s prayer - the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it - that part which the pastor - and also you in your hearts - fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: ‘Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!’ When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory – must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!

O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle - be Thou near them! With them - in spirit - we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it - for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen."

(After a pause.) “Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!” It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said."

- Mark Twain, "The War Prayer"

Twain reportedly caved to pressure not to publish the short story, as it was regarded by his family and publisher as too inflammatory for public consumption. Asked if he had plans to publish it, Twain answered: "No, I have told the whole truth in that, and only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead." At any rate, for whatever reason, it remained unpublished until after his death.

War is an ugly business, fraught with moral pitfalls – not to mention existential implications in the nuclear age. It might be necessary at times, but so are limb amputations. Both should be undertaken with all due discretion. I’ll choose my own wars, not the ones the government or MSNBC or the ADL tells me to."

- https://www.zerohedge.com/

The Daily "Near You?"

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Thought..."

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

- Bertrand Russell

"Five percent of the people think; 

ten percent of the people think they think; 

and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think."

 - Thomas A. Edison

"Major Banks Brace for a Massive Financial Crash!"

Full screen recommended.

Steven Van Metre, 7/7/25

"Major Banks Brace for a Massive Financial Crash!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

"Alas..."

Americans, faces-buried-in-the-phone champions of willful ignorance.

They don't know because they don't want to know...

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'One can fight evil but against stupidity one is helpless."
- Henry Miller

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 "Alas, regardless of their doom,

The little victims play!

No sense have they of ills to come,

Nor care beyond to-day..."

- https://coyoteprimeblog2.blogspot.com/

○

Oh, we so deserve what we get...

"War Is a Certainty"

"War Is a Certainty"

by Jeff Thomas

"Recently, an associate offered the following observation with regard to the likelihood of war in the immediate future: “The big guys like to play chess with the world. It's the biggest game. The bankers need ups and downs and wars to make money. The military needs wars to exist. The politicians need both to exist.” Whilst he was reiterating a concept we have discussed on many occasions, it occurred to me that I have never seen the subject defined so succinctly, nor so informatively. Let’s break it down:

The bankers need ups and downs and wars to make money: Just as bankers increase their profit as a result of upward and downward economic fluctuations, so, too, do they benefit from war. It is not unusual for a given bank to finance those who would create armed conflict, and indeed, they sometimes bankroll both sides. Whilst banks have other means of making money, war is often more profitable than conventional banking.

The military needs war: The military-industrial complex is in the business of selling armaments to governments. Although armament sales may tick over nicely in peace time, they boom in war time. Therefore, any armament supplier will benefit from war. It matters little whether it is an all-out war or a series of smaller ventures. The object is sales.

The politicians need both banks and war: This is true in the sense that politicians need both bankers and an active military to thrive. Political campaigns depend upon funding. Banks and armament suppliers have long been a major source of campaign funds for candidates of the primary political parties. (If each party is well-paid before the election, favourable treatment towards banks and armament suppliers is assured, regardless of which party wins an election.)

But there is further necessity for armed conflict with regard to politicians. First, it is a truism that a country rarely changes leaders during times of war, and nothing is more imperative to the politician than gaining a further term of office.

Second, nothing distracts the voting public like war. If a politician is receiving increased criticism from the voters, a good war can be counted on to get the voters concentrating more on the war than on the politician’s poor stewardship.

Third, governments typically remove the freedoms of a populace over time. Whilst citizens may object to the loss of their freedoms in normal times, they are often more willing to relinquish them “temporarily” in times of war, “for the good of the country.” Not surprisingly, lost freedoms are seldom reinstated after a war.

Consider the words of James Madison, the fourth US President: “Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies and debts and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the dominion of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended… No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”

Generally speaking, the citizens of most countries would prefer to avoid war. After all, they rarely benefit from it. But then, the impetus for war is almost never generated by the people of a country. Unless a nation is actually attacked, in nearly every case, the people need to be talked into going to war.

Convincing the People: A good example of this is the US, who, since World War I, have needed convincing on almost every occasion when political leaders proposed war. In World War I, the Lusitania incident was created jointly by the UK and the US to motivate them. In World War II, the goading of Japan was needed. In Vietnam, the trumped-up Gulf of Tonkin incident was needed, and so on. Suffice to say that, when bankers, the military industrial complex, the politicians, or all three decide to instigate war, war will come to pass. Whether it is a conservative government or a liberal government, if a clear threat does not exist, one will be invented.

At the present time in history, the countries of the First World have created the greatest pillaging of the state coffers that has ever occurred. As complacent as the peoples of both the EU and the US have been in recent decades, there does seem to be a growing understanding amongst the peoples that they have been scammed.

The respective governments are running out of rabbits to pull out of the hat to distract the masses. It would therefore seem that there has been no time in history in which war was so needed by national leaders—both as a distraction to the populace and as a last squeeze at the monetary lemon, prior to the inevitable crash.

And so, what does that mean to the reader? Assuming he is not invited to take part, shouldn’t the drums of war be of little interest to him? Well, in terms of his own physical safety, that may well be true, but here is an historical fact to consider:

Any country that is considering waging war against another country should first consider that the loser is almost always the country that runs out of money first. No venture is more costly than warfare. The EU and the US are bankrupt now. Those presently living in those locales may escape actual duty in the military, but they will unquestionably be expected to pick up the tab through taxation and inflation. Those who presently feel that their obligations to their governments are already barely manageable might wish to consider what they will be, both during and after a major war.

If what you've just read feels unsettling, that's because it should. The alliance of bankers, military profiteers, and political opportunists has always found its greatest leverage in chaos—and today, the stakes are higher than ever. As history edges closer to a breaking point, the consequences will be financial, personal, and generational."

- https://internationalman.com/

"How It Really Is"

 

Dan, I Allegedly, "AI is Ripping Us Off!"

Full screen recommended.

Dan, I Allegedly, AM 7/7/25

"AI is Ripping Us Off!"

"Hey everyone, it’s Dan from I Allegedly, and today I’m breaking down one of the craziest AI scams hitting rental car customers. Imagine returning a rental car only to find out you’re being charged hundreds of dollars for “micro-scratches” you didn’t even know existed. Companies like Hertz and SIXT are using advanced AI programs, such as Cargate, to scan vehicles for damage (real or not!) and slap customers with outrageous fees. This is becoming a massive problem, and I’m sharing real stories and tips to protect yourself from these shady practices. From insane administrative fees to bogus repair charges, this is a new level of exploitation that could make anyone think twice about renting a car. Plus, I’ll share what you can do to avoid falling victim to this scam. Don’t forget to ask for an AI inspection report upfront and document everything!"

Comments here:

- https://www.youtube.com/

Adventures With Danno, "Interesting Grocery Sales At Target!"

Full screen recommended.

Adventures With Danno, AM 7/7/25

"Interesting Grocery Sales At Target!"

Comments here:

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Bill Bonner, "Ghost Nation"

"Ghost Nation"

by Bill Bonner

Youghal, Ireland - "A quick scan of the news. Al Jazeera: "For years, migrants and asylum seekers travelled north from South America to reach safety and opportunity in the US. But now, with an immigration crackdown unfolding in the US, there are reports of an inverse trend emerging: wherein migrants are retreating from the US border in search of a new home elsewhere."

The Hill: "Treatment of immigrants is harmful, immoral, un-American. In June, 48-year-old Narcisco Barranco, an undocumented immigrant with no criminal record who was working as a gardener in Santa Ana, Calif., was pinned to the pavement and repeatedly hit in the head by four masked Customs and Border Patrol agents. After a formal request by the Mexican Consulate General in Los Angeles, Barranco received medical attention for his wounds and a heart condition. One of his three sons - all of whom served in the U.S. Marines - rebutted Trump administration claims that Barranco had attempted to assault officers with his weed trimmer, and said that if he had treated someone in this way when he was in uniform, “it would have been a war crime.”

CBS news: "Trump signs executive order calling for foreign tourists to pay higher national park fees."

BBC: "As the list of nations issuing travel warnings to the US grows, some visitors are opting to boycott it entirely. Many foreigners are changing their travel plans…"

The Mirror: "Patricia Arquette warns US isn't 'safe for tourists' and calls to cancel 2028 Olympics"

And here’s News Nation: "The Department of Homeland Security has announced migrants who self-deport through the CBP Home app will not face so-called “failure to depart fines,” which can reach up to $1,000 per day. In addition, they’ll get free flights, a $1,000 exit bonus and the chance to return legally later."

What do these headlines portend? A nation of ghosts? Your correspondent was one of four children. His friends and cousins all came from families of four , five, even eight children. In 1950, the average American woman had nearly four children. These children are the people we grew up with, who went on to fill the schools…the colleges…the restaurants…and the jobs of contemporary America.

It was this ‘growth’ of people - more people doing more things, earning more money, spending more money - that boosted GDP. Had they not been born, about half of the nation’s GDP growth since then would not have happened. And now, almost all those people we grew up with are retired…or dead. Many need assistance - either for cutting the lawn or getting out of bed.

By 2001, spiders were already looking for cribs, where they could weave their webs unmolested. American women had only half as many children as a century before - two or fewer on average - less than ‘replacement level.’ And today, Americans have sex for fun, not for children. The ‘fertility rate’ is down to 1.73, resulting in a whole ghost nation of millions of people who don’t exist. This is still not bad compared to Europe and Asia, where they sell more adult diapers than baby diapers. But it raises the question: where will workers of the future come from?

They won’t come from the homies. Since 2007, about half of all new jobs have been taken by immigrants - documented or not. And since 2019 almost all new jobs, net, have been filled by foreigners. So, who’s not showing up for the entry-level job interview in 2025? It’s one of the ghosts - people not born after 2000.

When we left you last week, the Republicans had just rolled out the pork barrel, with more money for war…more deficits…and more debt - always a vote-buying formula. Not to worry, they have numbers…NUMBERS!…to show that growth will offset much of the cost and increased debt. But where will these numbers come from? Ultimately, output depends on someone putting out. But who? Native-born American women are not having enough children to keep up. So, if the workforce is to grow, the workers will have to come from immigrants.

If the administration wanted to get dangerous illegal immigrants out of the country, it could have done so quietly and calmly, gradually sending them home legally. Instead, it rounded up thousands of immigrants - many of whom had never committed a violent crime; it treated them disgracefully and made a ghastly show of it. No surprise, the foreigners are no longer coming in the way they used to. Customs and Border Protection press release: "Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the interior of the US, down from 62,000 last May."

Yes, the immigrants are disappearing too…another ghost nation that won’t fill restaurants, clean the streets, or contribute to Social Security. If it is true that job growth is half of GDP growth, and also true that immigrants represent nearly 100% of job growth totals…to the extent the feds scare away immigrants, it could chop GDP growth in half

Tourists, tomato pickers, nuclear scientists - many are now planning on being part of someone else’s GDP. Whether that is ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ is not for us to say…but one thing is for sure, it is not is conducive to ‘growth.’ And who will take care of us as we grow old? One of the ghosts?"

- https://www.bonnerprivateresearch.com/

Jim Kunstler, "Cage Match"

Elon, as he is currently imagining himself.

"Cage Match"

by Jim Kunstler

"Who knows what to believe these days? Well, what would you expect after years, even decades, of anti-reality operations by everyone from the CIA to The New York Times to Harvard U. Is it any wonder that reality-optionality is making the people both apathetic and insane?

We are told now by the FBI that there is no evidence that Jeffrey Epstein ran a blackmail operation against the politicos of Western Civ, or that a “client list” existed, or that JE was murdered in his jail cell. It well might be true that there is no evidence, strictly speaking.

Messrs. Patel and Bongino, coming into office rather late in the Epstein game, were apparently left with big bag of nuthin. What else can they truthfully report? So, they had to put it out there, knowing a whole lot of people would be miffed. “We’ve got nuthin, sorry.” Were they chagrined to do that? Evidently so. Of course, this Epstein business has been going on for years and years and it is certainly possible that the most damning evidence has been destroyed by interested parties.

Personally, I find it implausible that absolutely nothing ever leaked, no video of, say, Tony Blair or Bill Clinton violating a child, if it ever happened. Everything else in our world leaks, eventually. And there were supposedly how many cameras around the Epstein properties, and how many thousands of hours of video recordings? There is more video of Bigfoot than of compromised Epstein bigshots. Just sayin’.

AG Pam Bondi, the FBIs boss, also has some ‘splainin’ to do. In February, she claimed to have the Epstein client list “sitting on my desk right now to review,” and hinted it would be released shortly. That material, when released, turned out to be the old dog-eared flight logs that have been circulating through every news outlet for years. Did she not know the difference between an alleged “client list” and the old flight logs? Let’s face it: seems kind of dumb. . . seems like the AG got played. . . and now the mob on “X” is having sport with her.

Among the miffed, apparently, is Elon Musk. At the height of his feud with Mr. Trump, on June 5, Elon put out a message on his “X” platform saying, "@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!". This intemperate utterance naturally prompts you to wonder: how (or what) might Elon know about any supposed Epstein evidence? At this point, the FBI might send somebody to inquire. Did Elon, who has more money than even Scrooge McDuck, somehow manage to buy up all those alleged blackmail tapes? Does he otherwise know where they might have disappeared to? Has he ever seen anything? Anyway, he didn’t produce any actual evidence.

Is Elon losing it, a little bit. His grip, that is. Mr. Trump thinks so. He declared over the weekend that Elon has “gone off the rails” . . . has become “a train wreck.” Well, what you can see in this very public, very regrettable cage-match between two giant public personalities is that Elon has lost his cool and the president has not.

For one thing, Elon is apparently incensed over the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) just signed into law because it ends the electric vehicle mandate left over from the “Joe Biden” regime, as well as the whopping $7,500 federal tax credit for new electric cars — loss of which which is apt to break Tesla’s business model. The bill also calls for sunsetting subsidies for battery production by 2028, meaning Tesla’s Powerwall business is likewise affected. Mr. Trump took pains to explain that he’d informed Elon from the get-go (and repeatedly) that all those subsidies were done for when he got elected.

Elon was visibly perturbed over the process that produced the OBBB, the proverbial political sausage-making (i.e., a nasty business you’d be appalled to watch). It appeared, he said, to un-do all of his DOGE spending cuts so laboriously made. Mainly, Elon deplored the failure to address the $36-trillion-plus national debt, widely recognized as a time-bomb on a short fuse liable to sink the whole USS United States. I will tell you a harsh truth: nobody will do anything about the national debt. The sheer math of our annual debt service is simply impossible. Our country is heading into some sort of bankruptcy proceeding, some kind of ferocious “work out” — as they say in the banking board-rooms.

Mr. Trump is betting that re-industrialization of the USA will produce enough of the right sort of growth — that is, production of real things of real value, as opposed to mere financial shenanigans — that the debt reckoning can be overcome somehow. Or mitigated. It’s a bold risk, and many pieces of the scheme are indeed falling into place: tariffs, bigly investment capital from foreigners, a general realignment of trade relations, tax reform, downsizing of government.

But a virulent opposition, the mad-dog remnants of the Democratic Party, seeks to wreck Mr. Trump’s program (and perhaps the USA altogether), and it is a miracle that the president has gotten this far with his plan. Personally, I’m doubtful that the energy resources will be there to underwrite this reindustrialization, but that is a topic for another day.

And now Elon, peeved as he is, proposes to bring another big obstacle onto the scene, his proposed new “American Party.” Looks like he is making a tactical blunder, and his distraught emotional demeanor suggests poor decision-making. Frankly, I’ve been concerned about Elon’s soundness-of-mind since he came on-board Mr. Trump’s band-wagon last summer. There was something peculiar about his spastic rompings on stage, his jerky movements, his garbly speeches. You wonder if all the talk about his world-beating “genius” has messed with his mind.

Also, frankly, I’ve long thought that attempting to colonize Mars was absurd, or at least premature. Shouldn’t we rather make an effort to demonstrate that we can live on this planet successfully before we venture off to a new one? After all, this Earth is perfectly suited to our needs and Mars is absolutely not. I doubt that even the most extreme transhuman program would avail to implant us up there.

To cut to the chase: the grandiosity of Elon’s plans, and the oddness of his public performances, suggests to me that he has gone a bit crazy in the pure sense of the word. This new party he proposes looks like a crazy play by a crazy person. He can throw zillions of dollars into it, and create a whole lot of political mischief, but what would that prove? How would that make him any better than such obvious villains as George Soros and Bill Gates?"

- https://www.kunstler.com/

Gregory Mannarino, "The Collapse Of Empires/Nations... A Great Suffering"

Gregory Mannarino, 7/7/25

"The Collapse Of Empires/Nations... A Great Suffering"

- https://traderschoice.net/

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